


May I Have This Dance

by ALoveForWords



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Song fic, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2018-09-28 12:49:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10101479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ALoveForWords/pseuds/ALoveForWords
Summary: Teenage Newtina AU. Inspiration came from Ed Sheeran's "Perfect".





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so I know there are probably a lot of people who are currently obsessed with Ed Sheeran's Divide Album as I am, and as soon as I heard 'perfect' I couldn't help but imagine Newtina in the lyrics. So here is my take on it. Credits to Ed and his beautiful and amazing lyrics, they make an appearance in this fic and I don't claim ownership to his words. Newtina aren't mine either, credits to Queen JK Rowling for these two amazingly in love characters. Enjoy reading! Let me know what you think :D

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina celebrates her 17th birthday with an extravagant party hosted by Newt and his parents, on Newt's insistence. But that's not the only gift her has for Tina on her special day.

Tina Goldstein stares at herself in her floor length mirror that was found inside her room at the Scamander estate. She still found it ridiculous how Newt, his parents and her parents convinced her that this coming of age party was a good idea. She was one of the most uncoordinated people in the wizarding world and the fact that she had to dance with sixteen bachelors and her dad in front of the most well-known witches and wizards in Britain was crazy! This party would have been a better idea for Queenie, not her. But she had no choice, a lot of people put a lot of time and effort to make this party happen and Tina will not be the one to ruin it.

It was not that she didn't love the idea of having a party in her honor, it was that she had to have the party with people she doesn't know watching her like a hawk.

 _Shake it off, Tina._ She says to herself, staring into her dark brown eyes. _You're doing this for Mama and Daddy. They've always wanted you and Queenie to have this. Just enjoy it. Mama did when she was your age._

Tina gave one final sigh as she heard a soft knock coming from the door of her room.

"Knock, knock," said a cheerful voice that came from her sister, whose head was poking out of the frame of the door. "May we come in?"

Tina smiles weakly at her sister and nods in approval, as she watches Queenie, her mom and dad enter her room.

"Quite a place Newt's parents own, eh?" Mr. Goldstein says as he closes the door behind him.

"And how generous of them to lend us the space for your coming out party!" Mrs. Goldstein says excitedly as she takes the seat next to Queenie, both facing Tina now.

"Well, of course, they would mama," Queenie replies immediately. "They're one of the most generous people in Britain, not to mention Newt is crazy about Tina and the Scamanders would agree to do anything for their sons."

Tina blushes when Queenie mentions how Newt was crazy about her. She was still not used to the fact that both her parents and Newt's knew about their relationship and even how supportive they have been since Newt and Tina told them about it the year before.

"Oh Tina, dear," Mrs. Goldstein says almost immediately at the sight of her blushing daughter, hands immediately on Tina's and squeezing them lightly. "You don't have to be embarrassed. Your dad and I are done with the teasing phase. We're happy you're happy."

Mrs. Goldstein gave Tina a smile, which Tina responded to with a shaky, but bright smile. Tina then searches for her father's eyes as she looked away from her mother and on to her floor length mirror. Their eyes met and it almost sent Tina to tears when she saw that her father was smiling so brightly at her, with so much pride in his eyes.

Tina was overwhelmed with emotion she turned away from her reflection and pulled both her parents into a tight hug. "Thank you for moving us to Britain, mama, daddy. If you haven't, I wouldn't have met Newt and I wouldn't be this happy."

Both her parents hugged her back tightly as Mr. Goldstein beckons Queenie to join the warm family hug. A few happy tears were shed that ruined all Goldstein girls' makeup, which with a wave of Mrs. Goldstein's wand was immediately fixed.

"Now enough of this," Mrs. Goldstein says standing up and straightening her dress. "We can't keep your guests waiting young lady. Especially the Scamanders, with all the fuss they had to deal with when we were planning this party."

Mrs. Goldstein takes Queenie's hand and drags her towards the door of Tina's room as Mr. Goldstein inches closer to Tina and takes her hand and loops it around his arm.

"We'll see you both down there," Mrs. Goldstein says with a smile of encouragement. "You look beautiful, Tina. I can't believe how much you've grown. I am so proud of you."

And before either of them could dissolve into a puddle of tears, Mrs. Goldstein and Queenie exit the room, leaving Tina and Mr. Goldstein alone.

"You ready, Teenie?" he says to his eldest daughter.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Tina says, giving a final sigh before both she and her father heard the music that signaled her entrance.

Her father had a tight grip on her and he kept her steady and upright. Tina was sure that had her father not been there to escort her down the stairs from her room to the main reception, she was sure she was going to fall, face first. She wasn't totally clumsy, but she wasn't that coordinated either.

Tina's seventeenth birthday party was nothing she'd imagined it would be. Growing up she was always used to simple parties, just a cake and a gift from her parents and Queenie. But apparently coming of age was an important part of a person's life. So both her parents insisted she had a coming of age party as well. Her mother was a muggleborn witch and her parents threw her a party similar to this one. It was similar to when muggle women celebrated their eighteenth birthdays, eighteen candles, eighteen gifts, eighteen roses, eighteen dances, but instead they did seventeen because a witch or wizard comes of age at seventeen.

Tina's parents wouldn't have hosted a party like this one with the limited funds they had, had it not been for the insistence of Newt and his parents to give it to Tina as a birthday gift. They weren't familiar with the tradition but they insisted on planning such a party. The Goldsteins fought hard to decline their generous offer, saying it wasn't really that important, but the Scamanders insisted, most especially Newt.

"I won't take 'no' for an answer," Newt said the week prior before he turned to Tina, his eyes begging. "Please let me do this for you Tina. I want you to celebrate this special day. Let me show you how special you are to me through this party."

Tina dissolved into a puddle of mush at Newt's words and had reluctantly agreed to let him and his parents do this for her. And here she was, descending the spiral stairs that lead to the main party area, where her huge birthday cake donned with seventeen baby pink candles were, where seventeen gifts from family, friends and strangers were arranged in a neat pile, where a ballroom was prepared for her to dance with fifteen strangers, her father and Newt.

A smile crept onto Tina's mouth at the thought of Newt. If she felt like a fish out of the water with this whole party, Newt would definitely feel it more. Newt wasn't really good with people and it actually surprised Tina that they actually got together to begin with. The thought of Newt having to dance with her in front of a thousand strangers and not trip over her dress or at least keep the two of them standing made Tina laugh.

 _I've never actually seen Newt dance before._ Tina realizes as she and her father reach the end of the stairs. _Is he any good? Is he as uncoordinated as I am? Are we totally going to mess this up?_

Her thought process was broken when her father places a soft kiss on her hand, hands her a single red rose and leads her to the dancefloor as she notices the song change. She smiles as she memories of her father singing the song that they were dancing to flood her mind. She looks into her father eyes and allows him to lead her in dance until the next bachelor tapped him on his shoulder, asking for permission for it to be his turn to dance with the birthday girl. Mr. Goldstein gives the young chap a nod and offers his daughter's hand to him. He takes it and offers Tina another red rose, which she takes and lumps in with the one her father just gave her.

"Why Theseus don't you look dashing," Tina says with a mischievous smile. "Who knew you clean up well?"

Theseus takes Tina in her arms and starts leading her in dance before he smiles playfully back at her and replies, "Every single lady in Britain apparently, everyone but you."

They both laugh at Theseus' comment as Tina scans the crowd for the one man she wanted to see more than anyone.

"You won't find him anywhere," Theseus says simply.

"What? But, this was his idea," Tina says frantically, a panic in her voice.

"He'll come, don't worry," Theseus was quick to reassure her. "You know my little brother, crowds aren't really his thing. But he'll be here when it's his turn. He loves you, Tina, he would brave anything for you. Even if it meant braving people."

Theseus gives one final smile as he felt a tap on his shoulder signaling the next bachelor was here with Tina's rose and dance. Tina gave Theseus a thankful smile before letting go and smiling at the next man who had a rose outstretched. Tina continued to receive a rose and dance from one bachelor at a time, the music changing every time it ended. From time to time she glanced at the crowd and would see her mother's tearful, proud smile, her sister's excitement and her father's pride amidst all the strange faces of witches and wizards who were invited to this shindig. She also caught glimpse of Mr. and Mrs. Scamander and gave them thankful smiles and nods, which they gave in return. There was one person who was missing from the crowd of strangers and she hated that he wasn't there yet.

Tina was so lost in thought, trying to find ways to explain Newt's absence that she didn't notice that she had already danced with sixteen men. The song changed from one she knew to an unfamiliar one she was sure wasn't on the song list the last time she and her mother checked. Tina was starting to panic when a spotlight shone at the far end of the hall. She squinted to find who was at the other end of the spotlight when her eyes were met by the sight of a lanky young man no older than twenty-one. His face was full of freckles and his eyes a deep green. A smile crept onto Tina's lips as her own brown eyes met his. It was Newt, thank god he was here.

Newt started to move towards Tina, the seventeenth red rose in hand. He only had his eyes on her and for someone who wasn't comfortable around large crowds, he didn't seem to be nervous at all. The song continued to echo around the hall and the more it played the more unfamiliar it became to Tina. A deep voice of a man was starting to sing as Newt finally reached her and handed her the last rose. Newt pulls her towards him, places his hands on her waist and pulls her close as he laces the other with her own hands.

"I know this wasn't the song we were meant to dance to," he said looking at her so intensely. "But I heard it on the muggle radio the other day and it felt like our song. Listen to the lyrics, my Tina, I think you'll agree with me."

Newt finally started to sway them to the beat of the music and plasters a smile on his face. Tina looks at him, stares into his eyes the way he was staring into hers and smiles contentedly. They sway to the beat of the music, Tina listening to every word of the song while Newt was trying to sing parts he already knew by heart and hummed the ones he didn't. Every time a new lyric came along Tina smiled widened at the realization of what exactly the song meant. It made her heart swell with love for this man right in front of her.

They danced for the entirety of the song and didn't even notice everything outside the little bubble they were in. They only saw each other, they only had eyes for the other, the outside world didn't exist to either of them. As the song finally faded, Newt and Tina broke out of their bubble and Newt escorted Tina to the stage so she could say a few words.

 _Sonorus._ Tina mutter silently, wand pointed at her throat. "I wanted to thank each and every one of you who took the time out of your busy nights to come and celebrate my seventeenth birthday party with me and my family. I may not know all of you personally but it is such an honor to have such renown witches and wizards here tonight."

Tina pauses and allows the attendees to clap. "It's not every day that a young witch like myself turns seventeen and we all know that seventeen is an important number for most of us. For some, it means the trace getting lifted off of us and we can finally do magic outside school…"

Laughter erupted from the crowd, which made Tina smile.

"For others, it means finally being able to apparate to and from anywhere we want to…"

"Here, here," says a man in the corner with a beer mug raised at Tina. She smiles at him.

"And for some, it means finally stepping out into the real world and becoming and adult witch or wizard who have to face the consequences of their actions," Tina says and then pauses as silence filled the entire hall. "It's that final step to adulthood. And even though I still have one year left at Hogwarts, one year left to be careless and young and free, I feel like I am ready to accept the challenge of adulthood."

Tina then looks for the Scamanders' table. She meets Mr. Scamander's eye and gives him a thankful smile before moving to do the same with Mrs. Scamander. "Thank you to the Scamanders for all that they have done for me and my family. I have so much love and respect for them, especially for how they took us under their wing when we moved here to Britain a few years back. We would be lost without you. So thank you."

Mrs. Scamander gave a tiny sniff before mouthing 'you're welcome dear' at Tina. Tina then looks to her right, where Newt was standing, watching her in awe, mesmerized by the way she was holding the room with her words and how confident she seemed to be in front of these strangers.

Tina reaches out her hand to Newt, which he takes immediately. "Newt, thank you for this amazing birthday present. I never really needed something this elegant as a coming of age party. But your insistence brought about all this and it made this special day more special than it already was."

Tina smiled at Newt and squeezed his hands, trying to say that she had more to say to him, but the words were for his ears only. He understood her and gave her simple nod. Tina then moved to find her family's table. She sees her mother holding a napkin to her eyes, wiping away the tears of pride that were pouring from them. Tina gives her mother a reassuring smile and then moves to look at her dad. He was giving her a very proud smile, nodding his head at her.

"Of course it would be wrong of me to thank everyone else and forget my family," Tina says trying to stop the tears from falling. "Daddy, Mama, Queenie and I wouldn't be here without both of you. We wouldn't be this happy, satisfied or contented had it not been for the both of you sacrificing a lot for us. Thank you for being the best parents a girl could ask for."

The emotions were too much for Tina that they spilled through her eyes. Newt was quick to wipe away the tears, which made Tina chuckle. She shakes her head at herself and moves to say a few final words. "Thank you, everyone, for this magical night. And now I guess on to why you're all really here: food!"

The entire hall chuckles and a few 'hear, hears' could be heard across the hall. Tina chuckles through her tears as she held on tightly onto Newt's hands for support as they both walk to the Goldsteins' table. Tina was immediately greeted by hugs from her family and praises at how she handled herself. She let herself cry silently into her parent's arms before she wiped her face clear of tears.

"I'll leave you to eat dinner in peace," Newt says quietly from behind Tina.

Tina turns to face Newt, about to say another thank you but was silenced when he kissed her hand lightly and said, "I'll be back in a few, to give you your final gift. And before you protest, let me say that it didn't cost me a thing."

Newt gives a final smile to Tina and turns to her parents and gives them a curt nod, leaving Tina dumbstruck, her hand still in the air where Newt had left it after kissing it.

"I...wha – what just happened?" Tina asked in a very confused state. "Wasn't this supposed to be his birthday present?"

"Oh let the boy pamper you, Tina," Mrs. Goldstein said immediately, pushing her daughter towards their table, motioning her to take a seat. "He is your boyfriend, after all, he has every right to."

" _Mom_ ," Tina says pointedly as she takes her seat beside Queenie. "I thought you were done with your teasing phase?"

"I'm not teasing dear," Mrs. Goldstein replies. "I'm simply calling him by what he is, _your boyfriend_."

Both parents chuckle as Tina throws her head into her palms, trying to hide the embarrassment she felt from their teasing.

Queenie moves closer to her big sister and nudges her, hands outstretched, offering Tina something to eat. Tina takes the bite-sized cauldron cake from her sister's hand and pops into her mouth. "Thanks. For this and for not teasing me."

"Oh, I'm waiting for after Newt gives you his present first before I tease you, Teenie," Queenie says playfully.

"Ugh," Tina says as her family chuckles around her. "I can't believe I all thanked you all in public earlier."

The Goldsteins chuckle and then move to eat their dinner in peace. A few minutes later one by one the guests to Tina's party came over and said their goodbyes and thanks to the family for their invitation, which they gladly returned.

Finally, when all the guests were gone and only the Goldsteins and the Scamanders were left, the Scamanders came over to bid their goodnights.

"Newt tells me he still has one surprise left for our young lady," Mr. Scamander says with a twinkle in his eye.

"Apparently, so," Mrs. Goldstein says amusedly. "Well, I guess we'll have to leave these lovebirds to their nest?"

"I quite agree with Anne here," Mrs. Scamander interjects. "Let the kids have some fun. You all have a room here at the estate anyway."

"I'll allow it," Mr. Goldstein says sternly eyeing Newt. "But no funny business you two."

This was enough to make Newt and Tina duck their heads and blush so hard. The adults bar Mr. Goldstein all chuckled and bid their goodnights to the young couple. Mrs. Goldstein had to drag Mr. Goldstein away from the reception to prevent him from chaperoning Newt and Tina.

At last Newt and Tina were left alone, standing side by side, still embarrassed at what Tina's father had just said. It was Tina who broke the awkward silence between them.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure daddy was just joking. He's just protective is all."

"And very rightfully so," Newt replies, looking up and finally meeting Tina's eye. "He wouldn't want his little girl hurt in any way."

Tina reaches out to hold Newt's hand to reassure him that her father wouldn't think he would ever hurt her but Newt didn't give Tina room to speak, he just continued, "And I would never dream of breaking the trust he put in me."

The words that just came out of Newt's mouth warmed her heart she couldn't help herself. She pulled Newt towards her and kissed him passionately. Newt snaked his arms around Tina's waist, pulling her flush against his body, eliminating any space that was between them when Tina touched her lips to his. They move almost immediately, adjusting to each other's bodies, Tina's arms finding their way around Newt's neck, pulling him closer to her if that was even possible. Newt deepened the kiss, to which Tina responded immediately. Tongues tangled for dominance and both only broke apart for much-needed oxygen before their lips were on each other again.

Newt was the first one to break the kiss. Tina looks at him puzzled, which only left Newt chuckling. He moves to caress Tina's flushed cheeks and gives her lips a final peck. "As much as I love kissing you Miss Goldstein," Tina smiles at this, linking Newt's and her own hands together before looking back up at him. "I might lose my head if I don't get you back up to your room in thirty minutes, so we better hurry up."

Newt pulls on Tina's hand and leads her out of the hall where the reception of her birthday party was conducted and onto the freshly mowed grass of the Scamander estate. Tina was struggling to keep up with Newt seeing as her shoes weren't exactly made for grass.

"Newt, hold up," Tina says in a struggle. "Not all of us are wearing shoes that could survive grass."

"Ditch them then," Newt says chuckling, still keeping a tight grip on Tina's hand. "You won't need them anyway."

Tina shakes her head at Newt and takes off her shoes in one swift motion and carried them with her free hand. Newt takes them deeper and deeper into the Scamander's beautiful gardens until they reached their special spot beneath the base of a tree. There Newt laid out a picnic for them, but instead of food, all that was to be found was a music player. Tina was curious as to how a music player could be a gift when she had already heard all the music she wanted to at her party. Newt read Tina through her expression almost immediately and simply smiled at her.

"I told you to listen to the lyrics to the song we danced to," Newt began to explain. "and I'm sure you did but just to make sure."

Newt then moves past Tina and hit play on the music player, extends his arms and offers his head out to her while simultaneously bowing. Tina, so amused by how her boyfriend was acting right now took his hand in time for him to stand straight and pull her close to him. The familiar instrumental sound of the song they danced to earlier played and they started to sway.

Tina remembered the voice of the singer of the song and the first few lyrics and was bracing herself to hear it again, but instead of hearing the original singer's voice, she heard Newt's. Newt holds out his hand for Tina to take, telling her with his eyes that he wanted to dance to the song with her again. Tina takes his hand immediately and waits for his him to lead her through the dance.

_"I found a love for me..._

Newt then bows, still gently grasping Tina's hand gently.

_Darling, just dive right in..._

Newt stands from his bow and raises his hands and starts to spin Tina around, which she does willingly.

_and follow my lead..._

Once Tina has fully spun around, Newt pulled her in closer to him, their noses touching as he continued to sing the song to Tina.

_Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet_

Newt starts to sway the both of them in place, following the rhythm of the music coming from the music player and his singing. Tina sways along with him, completely trusting Newt to get through this very intimate moment.

_Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me..._

Newt then starts to put some distance between him and Tina and does a combination of waltzes and turns as he continuted to sing those parts of the song that he knew.

_'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love_  
_Not knowing what it was_  
_I will not give you up this time_  
_But darling, just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own_  
_And in your eyes, you're holding mine..."_

Newt stops singing and leans forward, touching his forehead to Tina's. They both close their eyes, both still swaying to the instrumental background music Newt had prepared, reveling in this private moment that only the both of them will share.

"I haven't memorized all of it yet," Newt says breathlessly a few seconds later. "But I will try to."

"Newt, you don't have to." Tina starts, still locked in this embrace with Newt. "The fact that you went through so much trouble to give me the best birthday ever is enough for me."

"But Tina, I'm not memorizing this song just because I think it's _our song_ ," he replies, his eyes now open, hand caressing Tina's cheeks to get her to look at him. "I'm doing it because his words, this Ed Sheeran's words, are exactly the words I mean to say to you for as long as you'll have me."

Tina looks at Newt, looks deep into his eyes, trying to understand what exactly he was saying to her. "You know I'm not good with people, I don't have good people skills. I actually still can't believe you agreed to be my girlfriend if I were being completely honest. It's been a year or so since you said yes and everyday I wake up and couldn't believe you did. Everyday I keep telling myself 'Newt, you better find a way to tell her how much she means to you, to show her how much you love her' and believe me Tina I do try, every day. But words are not my strong suit, every time I start to say something it turns out wrong. And this song, it's the only way I could fully put into words how I feel for your right now in this very moment. Well, maybe not really the entire song yet, but...oh bugger...see what I mean when I say I'm not good with words - ?"

Tears were streaming down Tina's face. She couldn't believe how lucky she was that this man in front of her, the man she loved so much also loved her back. She couldn't actually believe that at such a young age someone had felt for her things that she only believe existed in fairytales. She was too overcome with emotion and she couldn't find the right words to say to him right now. So all she could do was crash her lips onto his one more time for a passionate kiss. They both come up for air a minute later, Tina running her fingers across Newt's cheeks and enjoying how much his chin was beginning to become scruffy.

"Newt, actions speak louder than words," Tina says after finally figuring out what to say. "I don't need you to tell me every single waking moment of everyday how much I mean to you or how much you love me because I see it through your actions. We see a lot of our friends in school where their words don't exactly match their actions. And I am one lucky girl to have you love me because you definitely never fail to show me everyday how much."

Tina then closes her speech by crashing her lips once again onto his for a searing kiss. Newt returned the kiss fervently and they broke up for air a few minutes later. They settled in each others arms, their foreheads touching, reveling in the comfort of being in eachother's arms.

The music stops a few minutes later and they both stopped swaying and just stood there, foreheads touching, breathing in the air the other was breathing in to."I love you, Tina."

It was Newt who was first to break the comfortable silence."I love you, Tina."

"Happy Birthday, my Tina. I love you."

"I love you too, _my_ Newt."

They both smile before giving each other one final kiss and walking back hand-in-hand to Tina's room, where her father was waiting.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt comes home to Tina after three years in the field studying magical creatures under tragic circumstances. After spending three years apart, are Newt and Tina still the people they fell in love with?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I now present you with another chapter of this universe. Thank you so much to people who took time to read and review, it inspires me to write more. Sorry for the delay in this chapter, hit a bit of a snag. I would just like to take the time to thank my amazing beta Serena for being so supportive and agreeing to beta the rest of the chapters of this fic. I have 2 or 3 more for you guys so I hope you'll bare with my delayed updates. Lastly, Newtina ain't mine, but this universe is definitely. I hope you enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think in the reviews! Enjoy.

It has been three years since that fateful night in the gardens where Newt poured out his heart and soul to Tina through song by their favorite tree at the Scamander estate. A lot has happened in those three years. Tina's final year at Hogwarts was one of her happiest. Newt never failed to visit her at Hogsmeade and spend time with her, even though he was a busy ministry employee.

One weekend, Newt announced that he was commissioned by one Mr. Augustus Worme to write about a book of magical creatures, which meant that he had to leave the comforts of home to study the vast number of magical creatures located outside Britain.

"You need to go, Newt," Tina said encouragingly that weekend. "You've always said how much you hated your job at the ministry. The pay is awful, you're not really doing what you thought you would be doing and you're not really enjoying it either. Go."

"But I can't leave you here, Tina," Newt replied almost immediately. "What would that mean for us?"

"We're still young, Newt," Tina scoffed in reply. "It's not like either of us is gonna die soon. And I wouldn't want you to stay because of me. I would want you to pursue your dream. You said you always wanted to inform the wizarding world about the importance of magical creatures and why we should be protecting them and not killing them just to keep exposing our world to the muggles. And this is the way to do that."

Tina placed her hands affectionately on Newt's and gave them a light, reassuring squeeze. "I'd still be here when you get back. I promise."

"You're sure you're okay with this?" Newt asks finally, not wanting to go if Tina didn't want him to or think he should. He valued her input always, just as much as Tina valued his. It's one of the things they loved about each other.

"I'm sure," Tina replies, planting a kiss on his cheek, not caring who was watching them at the Three Broomsticks. "Just promise me you won't die trying to study these creatures, Newton Scamander."

Newt simply chuckled off his girlfriend's comment, kissed her chastely on the mouth and chuckled in reply, "I promise," before they both went back to their third glass of butterbeers.

That was the last time Newt Scamander saw Tina Goldstein in person. For three years, all he heard of Tina (and all she heard of him) was through the letters they sent each other every week. Newt's letters would contain long, detailed letters about his encounters with all the creatures he had met and studied through his adventures and how he has managed to actually build habitats for some wounded creatures within the suitcase he brought with him when he left. Tina's, on the other hand, would contain weekly updates on their respective families and her work at the ministry (she became an auror for the ministry immediately after graduating Hogwarts and auror training). Those letters were what connected the both of them to each other, it was what kept them linked even though they were miles apart from each other.

Now, Newt was caught in the middle of trying to convince some Swiss ministry wizards to not kill the last breeding pair of Graphorns that have been spotted by a group of muggle mountaineers. They've agreed to give Newt the Graphorns to care for as long as they stay hidden. Newt was finally gaining the trust of these magical beasts and was trying to convince them to get into his suitcase so he could show them the habitat he had built for them when an owl came swooping in carrying another letter from Tina.

"Finally Tina's letter," Newt says to himself and to one of the graphorns he was cautiously petting before turning to address the owl that delivered said letter. "Got lost didn't we little fella? I'm sorry then if it was hard to find me."

He let the owl affectionately nip his hand before offering him some knuts to pay for the delivery. He then moved to quickly opened the letter and started reading.

_Dear Newt,_

_I'm sorry for missing my weekly letter. Things have been so crazy for us around here lately I couldn't find the time to send a letter. A few weeks ago mama and daddy caught dragonpox when they visited a friend of theirs at St. Mungo's. The healers at St. Mungo's went immediately to work and gave them all sorts of potions to cure them. They said they felt better and the healers even thought they were getting better. I was too busy calming down Queenie and with all the work at the ministry I couldn't find the time to tell you they contracted the disease. I had to tell her a million times that they were getting better. Even your mum and dad had to tell her a couple of times that they're ok for Queenie to finally believe us. But we were wrong Newt. The day after Queenie finally believed us, mama and daddy died. The healers couldn't explain why they died so abruptly, especially since they did look like they were getting better. I never want to be the bearer of bad knew, but I just needed you to know. I know how close you were to my parents, especially mama._

_Before you go asking me, yes I am fine. I am dealing with it and your mum and dad have been really supportive since we found out. Theseus, as well. Queenie's not doing fine though, she hasn't stopped crying since I told her and it's breaking my heart how this happened before she graduates from Hogwarts this year. The funeral's gonna be in three days, the healers at St. Mungo's advised we do it immediately so that the disease won't spread. So that's what we're doing. So please, if you could take just a little break from saving and studying your creatures, come home Newt, if only to say goodbye. You don't need to stay for long, just come home and bid farewell._

_I miss you._

_Tina_

Newt folded the letter and stuffed it into the inside of his blue coat and stared blankly into space. John and Anne Goldstein were dead, the two people he considered his second parents were gone. A tear streamed down Newt's face, which he was quick to wipe off. His thoughts immediately went to Tina and how she must be feeling. This was her parents they were talking about, she was hurting, she was in pain. The ink splotches on her letter showed him that much.

 _I must go home._ Newt thinks to himself. _Tina needs me. They all do. I've been gone for three years, I didn't even get the chance to see John and Anne before they died. I need to be there to at least say farewell._

Newt quickly packs his things with the wave of his wand then he looked pleadingly at the graphorns who refused to get into his case.

"Please, please get in," he pleaded with them, not caring if they understood him or not. "Please, I promise you you'll love the habitat I've created for you. It would feel just like home. I need to get home, and I wouldn't be able to do that if you both won't get in. Please, do get in."

Newt continued to pet the graphorns and plead with them until both agreed to get inside the case. He lead them to a wonderful space in his case that looked exactly like where they used to live. The graphorns contentedly settled in and gave Newt an affectionate kiss with their tentacle like mouths. Newt gave them a final pat and smiled before leaving them and his case and packing the last of his remaining belongings.

Once he was done, Newt apparated into the European Ministry of Magic to sign a few exit papers and see if he could get a portkey to London, so that he won't have to travel by muggle means.

"Hello, excuse me," Newt says awkwardly to the receptionist. "Who do I go to if I wish to acquire a portkey to London and also the head of the department of the regulation and control of magical creatures? I need to get exit papers for the graphorns I've saved here and I need to get home immediately."

"I'm sorry Mister - ?" the receptionist with a weird accent.

"Scamander."

"Yes, Mr. Scamander," she continues. "I'm sorry but we don't issue portkeys here at the European ministry, at least not yet since a muggle was transported to Brazil a few weeks ago for mistakenly picking up what he thought was his father's lost cane."

Newt frowned at what he just heard and was about to reason with the receptionist but was cut off by her as she continued to answer his previous questions.

"As for the head of the department of the regulation and control of magical creatures, he has a meeting until this afternoon and won't be able to entertain you," she says regretfully. "But he has left a note for Mr. Newt Salamander, that's you if I'm correct."

"It's Scamander," Newt corrects her as he receives the note. "And yes that's me. But you don't understand, I need to get the exit papers for him immediately so I could travel home. A family member died you see and they're burying them in three days and I want to be there. I need to be there. I won't be able to leave without those exit papers. Is there a way I could get them without having to see the head of the department?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Scamander," she replies, saying his name correctly this time. "But that's not how we do things here. You'll have to wait for the head to be done with his meetings. He's a busy man."

Newt sighs and thanks the receptionist for her help and goes to sit on the bench by the entrance of the European ministry and starts to absentmindedly read the note that was left to him by said man. It simply noted that the exit papers are with his assistant and he could retrieve them as soon as he needs them. This made Newt feel a lot better, it meant he'll be home in time for John and Anne's funeral.

He walked back to the receptionist and asked where he could find the Head of the department’s assistant and got directions to her office. He retrieved the exit papers almost immediately and headed to the nearest muggle train station to book his train ride back to London and hopefully back in time to help with anything he could.

He walked merrily back to his hotel room after retrieving his ticket from the muggle train station. Almost all tickets were sold but he was lucky enough to get a ticket for two in the afternoon, which meant he'll be home just around six. He was happy that he could finally take a trip back home, even just for a while. In the three years he was studying magical creatures he never got the chance to go back but he was lucky enough to have so much understanding and support from Tina and his parents on that regard. He felt awful because of the circumstances that brought about his return but if it meant he gets to spend time with the people he loves before heading back, he’d take it.

The next day, Newt woke up nice and early and went into his case to feed the few creatures he has managed to save and create habitats for in his case. By 10 o'clock he was dressed and ready, his trusted hufflepuff scarf looped around his neck. He arrived at the train station just in the nick of time and boarded the train back home. All he could think about the entire train ride was what to say to Tina and Queenie. He was always awful with expressing how he feels and he didn't want to say the wrong thing and make both sisters feel worse.

A few hours later, Newt was nudged awake by one of the guards of the train. Apparently, he fell asleep thinking of things to say and he has arrived finally in London. He awkwardly nods at the guard and quickly gets off the train. The sky was a mixture of orange and dark gray, the last remnants of the sun finally leaving the sky as night finally settles in. Newt walks to a deserted corner near the train station and apparated to the Goldstein's home. He’d stop by there before he went home, Tina and Queenie needed him more than his parents or brother do at this moment.

Newt was half expecting a wake when he arrived, and lots of people coming by to pay their respects. But what met him was an old house that had little to no indication that someone was living in it. Newt tried to catch a glimpse of Tina's room but there was no light in it, in fact there wasn't any light to be seen in the Goldstein residence. So, Newt decided that he might just walk home first and ask his parents where he could find both Goldsteins.

Newt let himself in and was about to call for his parents when he heard voices.

"Thank you for letting us stay over, Diana," says a voice Newt was so familiar with. "It just didn't feel right going back to that house now that we won't hear mama or daddy. It just doesn't feel the same. It's too hard, especially for Queenie."

"No need to thank me, Tina dear," Diana, Newt's mother, replied. "Anything for you and your sister. I'm so sorry Newt couldn't be here for the funeral, I'm sure he has an explanation."

"Yeah," Tina says wearily, a hint of sadness and hurt in her voice. "I'm sure he does."

Newt freezes. He missed the funeral? But didn't the letter say they were to be buried in three days? It was still day two, he was sure of it.

Newt quickly strode from the entrance of the house to where he heard his mother's and Tina's voices and without any announcement blurted out, "I missed it? But the letter said I had three days."

Both Tina and his mother jumped at the sound of his voice. Neither of them expected him home, especially since they had no indication that he was, in fact, coming home.

"Newt!

"Newton!" Diana exclaimed almost the same time as Tina did. She walked towards her son, arms open, ready to give him a warm embrace. She wrapped her arms tightly around Newt, a hug her son returned reluctantly, his eyes on Tina. Her eyes were on his as well, the both of them having some sort of non-verbal battle between themselves.

Diana lets go of Newt a few minutes later and looked from her son to Tina and was about to say something when but Tina beat her to it.

"I didn't know you were coming home."

Newt stayed rooted in his spot as Tina ducked her head and fidgets, Diana watching the pair of them, not saying a word.

"Of course I was," Newt replied incredulously, almost a little hurt that Tina would think so poorly of him. "I came as soon as I got your letter."

Newt frowned, realizing Tina wasn't looking at him at all. He wanted so much just to walk right up to her and take her into his arms and just hold her, his mother's presence be damned. But the way Tina was right now was enough to tell Newt she didn't want it, that she'd rather he stay where he was and not touch her at all. His whole soul ached to touch her, to hold her, to make up for lost time, to make up for those three wretched years apart. But he stayed where he was, not wanting to disrespect Tina's space.

The three of them stood in awkward silence for what felt like forever until Tina decided to break it by saying, "I think I'll go check on Queenie, bring her food or something. She hasn't been eating these past few days."

Tina looked tentatively at Diana, who gave her a simple nod. Tina approached the only mother figure she had left and kissed her on the cheek and then turned to Newt.

"I'm glad you're back," she says a little shakily, a nervous smile plastered on her face. She inches closer to him and plants a long searing kiss on his cheek before backing up and looking at him. "We missed you."

She then turns away from mother and son, suppressing the tears that were threatening to escape her beautiful brown eyes and walked up the stairs, to the room where Diana insisted Tina and Queenie stayed in for the time being.

Newt helplessly followed Tina's movements by simply gazing at her. When the door behind her shut his head snapped back to face his mother, so many questions in his mind he wasn't sure which on to ask first.

"The funeral was a week ago, Newt," Diana says immediately, answering the question in her son's eyes.

"So I did miss it," Newt replies with a sad realization that he disappointed the only woman he ever loved.

Diana simply nodded in answer, grasping her son's hand in her own and squeezing them tightly to give him comfort. "Tina understands. She knows what you're doing is important. She said as much to me the day we're buried John and Anne, when I apologized for you not being here."

"I don't deserve her," Newt replies sadly, shaking his head at himself. "She doesn't deserve this."

"I quite agree," Diana replied, much to Newt's surprise. "But you're the only one who knows her, Newt. The only one who really knows her. And right now, more than anything Tina needs someone who knows her enough to help her make sense of what she's feeling, make her see that she is allowed to break down and mourn her parents the way she's supposed to. She's been trying to be strong for Queenie and for everyone else, because she thinks it's her responsibility as the eldest. And maybe it is. But she hasn't given herself space to grieve or process everything. Help her deal with all of this, Newt. Show her that there's someone who's willing to be strong for her the way she has been strong for everyone else around her. It's the least you could do."

"You're right, I owe her at least that," Newt replies a little confidently, a weak smile on his face. "But I can't shake this feeling that I don't know her like I used to. I feel like those three years have somehow caused us to drift apart and that I am to blame for all of this."

"You two have just been apart for each other for too long," Diana says in a comforting voice. "You just need to talk, really talk, figure out who both of you have become over those three years you weren't here. She's still the Tina you fell in love with, son. And I see that you're still the Newt she fell in love with. No one is to blame for the situation you both are in right now. After all, you both agreed that you leaving three years ago was best. Talk to her, Newt. Show her you're here for her."

Newt nods at his mother and smiles. He squeezed her hands before pulling her into a tight hug. "Thanks, mum. I'm glad to be home."

"I'm glad you're home, son," she replies tearily. "It wasn't the same without you here."

Newt gives his mother a sad smile before giving her one final hug and walking up the stairs to his room, which was luckily beside Tina and Queenie's room. He set down his case before he finally decided to go talk to Tina. He was thinking about whether or not he should knock when he finally decided that that would probably wake Queenie up if she was asleep. So Newt silently turned the knob of their door (which was surprisingly unlocked) and peeked in the room.

"Tina?" Newt called out, immediately noticing Tina by the bed, her back turned to him.

"Newt?" Tina replies, turning to face the source of his voice. "What are you doing here?"

"May I come in?" he asks before entering.

Tina gave a quick nod and he walked towards her, carefully shutting the door behind him, careful not to make any sound so as to not wake up Queenie. Tina turns back to the sleeping for of her sister and smooths her sister's blonde locks.

"She's been crying a lot," Tina says sadly into the silence, blissfully aware that Newt was standing right behind her. "Wore her out, I guess. She didn't even have the energy to eat dinner."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Newt replies, unsure. "Can we talk?"

Tina looks up at him, a little unsure herself. "Sure. But can we do it in your room? I don't want to wake Queenie up."

"Sure," Newt replies as he walks to the door and opens it for her Tina follows Newt and exits her room with Queenie and waits for him to enter his room first before she follows him inside. Newt walks towards the window at the base of his bed while Tina closes the door behind her. She leans against the door and decides that she wanted to stay here.

An awkward silence settle between them, it made both of them uncomfortable. Newt tucked his hands into his pockets to prevent himself from fidgeting and Tina placed her hands on the doorknob behind her back as she leaned on the door for support. Neither said anything for a while until Newt finally decided that he should probably say something since it was his idea to talk in the first place.

"I'm so sorry," he blurts out nervously. "You know, for not being there. I thought I had time."

Newt started to walk closer to Tina, watching her to see if she flinches as he walked towards her. "I really did come home as soon as I got the letter."

Newt continued to inch closer to Tina, still looking at her body language to determine if he should stop or inch closer to her. Tina barely moved or flinched as Newt got closer and closer to her and this encouraged Newt to approach her. They were two feet apart from each other when Tina shifted her weight from one foot to the other and tucked a strand of her on her ear before crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, I guess the owl delivering my letter to you got lost or something," Tina replies nervously. "It's fine, it's not your fault. I'm not angry with you, if that's what you're worried about."

"Are you sure?" Newt says as he stepped closer to Tina, taking her chin in his hands and raising her head so that her eyes would meet his. "Because it seems like you are."

"No, I'm not," Tina replies exasperated, uncrossing her arms and throwing them in the air before they finally settled at either side of her body. "I'm just disappointed is all."

Newt frowned when her heard her say that. He never wanted to be the kind of person to disappoint Tina Goldstein, but he understood why he did. It truly was no one's fault, just a cruel twist of circumstance. That didn't calm the pang of guilt that was starting to gnaw its way through Newt, though.

"I just," Tina says tentatively, unsure if she wanted to continue what she was saying. "I just needed you there, okay? And that's hard enough to admit to myself, let alone to you. But I really needed you at my parent's funeral, Newt. Even just for a day, I just wanted you here with me. I wouldn't have asked you to stay for more than you can. I know how important your work is to you. So I would've understood. Just as I understand now why you had to miss the funeral."

Tina shifts her weight again and wipes away a stray tear that had escaped that she was trying so hard to keep at bay. Newt, unable to handle seeing the woman he loved in so much pain, ran his hands along her arms before finally pulling her in for a much-needed embrace. As soon as her head hits Newt's chest, Tina began to sob uncontrollably. She moved to uncross her hands and wrapped her arms around Newt's back, holding on for dear life as she cried in his arms. Newt pulled her in closer as one of his hands settled on the small of her back and the other was used to caress her hair for comfort.

"They're gone, Newt," Tina admits to both of them something she has been denying for a week now, her voice muffled by the sweater Newt was wearing. "They're really gone."

She continued to sob in Newt's arms as he continued to soothe her and calm her down with his touches. He tucked her head beneath his chin before panting a kiss on her hair, looking up afterwards to prevent the tears that were starting to form in his eyes from falling. She needed him to be strong for her in this moment, just as she has been strong for Queenie after they lost their parents.

"Sssshhhh," Newt says through Tina's muffled cries. "Everything's going to be alright, my love. I'm here now, and I'm never leaving you again."

Newt then shifted Tina in his arms and carried her bridal style to his bed. Tina didn't protest when Newt placed her on top of his bed and settled in the space beside her. She simply inched closer to him and settled in the comfort of his sturdy embrace. Newt wrapped his arms around Tina, tucked her head under his chin and allowed her to let it all out.

"Can I stay here tonight?" Tina hiccuped a few minutes later, moving her head from where it was at the crook of Newt's neck to meet his eyes. "I don't want Queenie to see me like this."

"You can stay here beside me for as long as you'd like, Tina," Newt replies with a smile, reassuring her with his eyes. "I'm never leaving you alone, again."

Tina doesn't argue with Newt, she simply smiled at him, inched closer to him until their noses touch, never breaking eye contact. She then moves closer and plants a chaste kiss on his lips, a kiss her returned. She breaks the contact and for a few moments they were cheek to cheek. She then moves away from him and locks eyes with the man she has loved for three years, a man she still loves and a man she missed.

"I've missed you so much, Newt," she says sadly, tears pouring out of her eyes.

Newt moves to wipe the tears out of her eyes and says, "I've missed you so much too, my Tina," he inches closer and kisses her one last time before saying, "And I'll say this a million time over, I am never leaving you again."

Newt then tucks Tina by the crook of his neck and feels her hands on his chest. He gives her one final kiss on her head before they both drifted off to dreamless sleep, happy to be in the comfort of each other's arms.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt promises to never leave Tina again, but will he be able to keep that promise?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I'm keeping my promise to myself and finally updating all my works. Sorry for taking so long before this update. The Divide album is literally a year old and I'm still on this story! Anyway, I already have the ending of this story mapped out so you won't have to wait a really long time for the next update (I promise I'll try to finish this before the year ends.) Only two chapters left, and I really hope you guys love this installment of the story. As always, this is unbetaed so all mistakes are mine, thanks for reading, and I don't own Newtina, just this universe. Enjoy!

Tina woke up cuddled beside Newt the next morning. She looked up to the face of the sleeping man beside her and couldn't help but smile and run her hands against his cheeks and then through his auburn locks. Newt stirred from beside her and Tina felt a little guilty for waking him up when he squints to open his eyes.

Newt looks at the woman beside him, half-expecting her to be one of the creatures he has grown accustomed to waking up beside during his travels for research. He smiles softly at her, plants a kiss on her forehead before he turns back to look at her and say, "Good morning, love."

Tina closes her eyes and leans against him, presses herself to him and smiles. "Good morning."

"How are you feeling?" Newt asks, concerned laced in his voice.

"I'm fine," Tina sighs before moving to look at Newt. "Last night helped. A lot. Thank you."

"Of course, Tina," Newt replies as he shifted on his side of the bed to sit up. "I meant what I said last night, I'm never leaving you again."

"But what about your book?" Tina asks from where she was lying, moving to sit up the same way Newt had. "You loved what you were doing. I can't ask you to leave all of that behind just for me."

"I would leave everything behind for you in a heartbeat," Newt interjected as he raises one hand to caress Tina's cheek. "you're the only thing that matters to me, Tina."

A blush finds its way onto Tina's cheeks upon hearing those words. "Despite three years of being away, you still know exactly what to say to me."

Newt smiles at her, finally being relieved of the guilt that he had been feeling since he set foot on the estate. He inches closer to Tina, settles his hand on her cheek and plants a kiss on her lips, one she returns. She moves one of her arms and snakes it around Newt's waist and inches closer to him.

Newt traces Tina's lips with his tongue and was about to deepen their kiss when his bedroom door fell open. Newt and Tina flew apart, both annoyed at whoever it was at the door who was ruining their little reunion.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you had company."

Tina groans as she realized who was at the door. She sinks in deeper into Newt's bed, throwing the covers over her head to hide how humiliating this situation was for her.

"What do you want, Theseus?" Newt asks between clenched teeth, glaring at his brother from where he was sitting while placing a comforting hand on top of the sheets that were hiding his embarrassed girlfriend.

Theseus smiled in amusement at his brother, trying to stop himself from saying the crudest of comments that were going through his mind. He recovered immediately and remembered why he came rushing through the bedroom door of his little brother, a brother he had no idea came home the night before.

"And good morning to you too, Newton."

Newt rolls his eyes at his brother before eyeing him, begging him to to say what he came here to say.

"Mr. Worme just arrived at our doorstep a few minutes ago," Theseus says, still smiling amusedly as he tucks his hands into his pockets. "he says he needs to speak with you right away. Didn't say what for."

"Tell him I'll be down in a minute," Newt replies as he tries to coax Tina out from under the covers.

"Very well," Theseus says as he turns around to leave the room. Before he exits, he turns back to see Tina's head poking out from under the covers. He eyes Newt in amusement before he adds, "welcome home little brother."

Newt mumbles an annoyed thank you back at Theseus and eyes him to leave. Theseus gave the couple one last devious smile before looking at Tina and saying, "Good morning to you, Tina."

"Morning, Theseus," Tina replies stifly, trying to hide the shame she was feeling right in that moment. Theseus wiggles his eyes at Tina which prompted her to throw a pillow at him. He dodged the pillow swiftly and finally exits the room, closing the door behind him.

"I'm never gonna hear the end of this," Tina groans in frustration, moving hastily away from Newt's bed as if she did something more than just sleep there.

"He's my brother," Newt mutters from his side, standing from where he was when Tina did. "he'll surely be teasing and taunting me about this for the rest of my life."

Newt walks over to Tina and stands in front of her. He places his hands on both sides of her body and looks at her reassuringly. "Just ignore him, okay?"

Tina smiles weakly at him and nods. She walks to the door where the lifeless pillow feel after hitting the door that was closed behind its real target.

"Now, I have to go speak to Mr. Worme about the traveling," he says as he walks over to check his reflection in the mirror, making sure he looked presentable. "I'll come find you after."

"Okay."

Newt walks over to Tina and gives her lips an affectionate peck before he walks past her and out of his room. Tina gives the room a thorough onceover, noting that it looked more alive now that its owner had finally come home. She sighed happily before she leaves the room and walks over to the adjacent one, where her heartbroken younger sister must be, sleeping peacefully.

When Tina walked into the room that she and Queenie have been staying in, she was surprised to find that here sister wasn't on the bed where she left her the night before. Panic started to fill Tina's entire being, terrible images of what could have possibly happened to her sister flashing through her mind. She was almost going to rush out of the room and ask for help when Queenie entered the room from the door by the veranda.

"Queenie!" Tina exclaimed, placing a hand on her heart. "I was worried you'd gone missing."

"Don't worry, Teen, I was just outside," Queenie replied wearily, wrapping her soft silk bathrobe against her petite body. "just needed fresh air."

"How are you feeling?" Tina asked as she walked slowly towards her sister.

"Fine, I guess," Queenie shrugged in reply. "You didn't come to bed last night."

"Yes, well, uhm," Tina says tentatively, unsure of how to break the news of Newt's return to her. "I was with Newt."

"Wait, Newt, what?" Queenie mumbles in a confused manner. "How is that even possible? He hasn't told you where he is exactly. How could you have been with him?"

"He came home last night," Tina answers, looking to see how Queenie would react to this news. "the owl that delivered my letter got lost and arrived to him late. That's why he wasn't here last week."

Tina avoided the word  _funeral._  She didn't want to trigger another crying episode from her sister, who was taking the death of their parents harder than her big sister.

"Well, I'm glad he came home," Queenie replies, crossing her arms comically. "I would have really hated it if I had to hate him for not being there for you."

He sister's reply made Tina chuckle. "You wouldn't have had to hate him, Queenie. I know how much you like Newt, and I wouldn't have asked you to hate him anyway. I understand what he's doing is important, to him and to the wizarding world. I was the one who encouraged him to go in the first place. Do you really think I would hold it against him if he wasn't able to come home?"

"I know you encouraged him to go and I know you would never hold it against him if he didn't come home for the funeral," Queenie replies, gulping when she mentioned the word funeral and slumping down onto the bed that she and Tina shared. "but he's your boyfriend, Teenie. And no matter how supportive of a girlfriend you are, it doesn't mean he gets to get away with everything. You needed him, he should've been there."

Tina walks over to Queenie and takes the seat right beside her. She places a comforting hand on top of one of Queenie's hands and looked at her sister to say, "And he would have been there, Queen. He came running home right after he got the letter. It wasn't his fault that the owl got lost."

"Fine," Queenie mutters. "he gets to live today. But he ever disappoints you again, I swear I'll boil him alive."

Tina laughs at how protective her sister was and takes her in for a hug.

"So, I guess that means you're feeling a lot better now?" Tina inquires carefully, not wanting to bring back the Queenie that did nothing but cry and sleep.

"Yes," Queenie replies proudly. "we only have each other now, Teenie. We need to be strong for each other."

Tears started to well up in Tina's eyes, pride swelling up inside of her. "I will always be here for you, Queenie."

"Me too," Queenie says with a smile before she lightly squeezes the hand Tina had placed on top of hers.

Tina pulls her sister in for a hug and lets the tears that had formed in her eyes fall. She then pulls away from the hug and wipes the tears away before saying, "How about we go and get a spot of breakfast? I'm sure Diana won't object to us raiding their pantry for another day."

Queenie chuckles and grabs her sister's hand before she drags through the familiar corridors of the Scamander estate right into the kitchen.

As soon as the Goldstein sisters got to the kitchen Tina waved her wand and set everything in motion. Plates and mugs flew from the cabinets and onto the countertop where Tina and Queenie planned to eat their breakfast. A butter knife started to spread peanut butter and jam onto two different slices of bread before neatly folding them against each other. Tina offered one slice of PB&J to Queenie, who took it merrily and started to chomp on it as soon as she got it. Those days of starving herself had finally taken a toll on her.

Tina smiles when she sees how fast Queenie was attacking her sandwich. She waves her wand to make more and also one batch of coffee. She takes a mug for herself and places one directly in front of Queenie before she grabs a piece of sandwich.

"Is it okay if I leave you here for a minute?" Tina asks after nibbling on half of her sandwich. "I have to find Newt."

"You mean he's still here?" Queenie replies shocked.

"Yes, he said he won't be leaving again," Tina admits out loud.

"Well he better not," Queenie says, going back to focusing her concentration on her breakfast. "at least not yet. He owes you some good boyfriend time."

"Queenie," Tina says pointedly.

"Fine, I won't say anything more about it."

"Thank you," Tina says thankfully. "now I got to find him. Stay here I'll be back."

Tina takes one last bite of her sandwich and picks up her cup of coffee before she starts to wander the halls of the estate to find Newt. She hears voices near the sitting room, so she decided to venture in there. She hears the familiar sound of Mr. Worme's voice and realized that he and Newt weren't done talking. She stopped right behind the bookshelf at the far end of the sitting room that was shielding her from the two men that were having a heated conversation and decided to listen in.

"Mr. Worme, I really can't go back," she hears Newt say from where she was standing. "Tina needs me right now."

"I couldn't care less about your personal relationship, Newton," Mr. Worme counters harshly. "I commissioned you to do research on magical creatures and I expect you to uphold your end of the bargain."

Newt mumbles something that Tina could not fully understand. She inches closer so that she could hear more of the conversation, pressing her back up against the bookshelf.

"I thought it was your dream to travel and study magical creatures, Newt?" Tina hears Mr. Worme say after Newt had stopped talking. "And now suddenly just because of some girl, you don't want to do that anymore?"

"She is not just some girl, Mr. Worme," Newt counters angrily. "Tina needs me right now. I've been gone for three years, never even been home to see my family even for the holidays, just for the sake of doing research. I never once asked you for a vacation, Mr. Worme, that's how important this is to me. But right now, my family and the girl I love need me. And as much as I love doing what I do, I love them more."

Love swelled up in Tina's heart for Newt as she heard him fight Mr. Worme. He was never forceful, especially during fights like this. But this time around he was, and he was fighting for her.

"I'll give you one week, Scamander," Mr. Worme finally says. "one week to evaluate what your priorities are: your career or this girl. If you decide that you don't want to go, then you'll have to hand in your research to me and I'll find someone else to continue this venture for me."

"But Mr. Worme – "

"No," Mr. Worme says firmly. "our agreement was you were going to do research in the field so that you can get a book published about it. All of your research belongs to me because  _I_ commissioned you to do this. So, regardless of how much you've already done, the credit of the book will go to whoever actually comes around to writing it. Think about that the next time you want to turn me down."

Anger starts to rise up inside of Tina so she moves away from the bookshelf she was hiding behind and starts to storm into the room, but before she could yell at Mr. Worme, he disapparated right in front of her eyes.

Newt, completely unaware that Tina had heard almost the entirety of his conversation with Mr. Worme, rubbed his eyes wearily before turning around to be met by her.

"Who the hell does he think he is?!" Tina exclaims as soon as she reaches Newt.

"Tina!" Newt exclaims, startled by Tina's sudden appearance.

"He can't take away your book, can he?" Tina asks in concern, her eyes pleading with his.

"I'm afraid he can," Newt replies tiredly. "like he said, it was all in the contract."

"Newt, I –" Tina begins as she takes on of his hands he both of hers.

"No, it's ok," Newt sighs, running his free hand through her hair to tuck some strays behind her ear. "I promised you I would never leave you again and I intend to keep that promise."

Newt smiles weakly at Tina. He places a chaste kiss on her lips before pulling her into a warm embrace. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Tina finally decided to pull away.

"Newt," she starts to say, her head ducked and her hands grasping onto his. "go."

"What?" Newt exclaims in surprise.

Tina looks up from their entangled hands, sadness laced in her eyes.

Newt gives Tina a look of sadness as he grips her hand more tightly. He knew that arguing with her was not a good idea. He knew her. Once she set her mind to something it was hard to change it.

Newt brought Tina's hand towards his lips and placed a long, meaningful kiss before he looks back up and sees her eyes filled with tears. A pang of guilt hits him as he realizes that he was once again leaving her alone for who knows how long. He brings his free hand to her face and wipes the tears that were streaming down her beautiful cheeks.

"I promise I'll come back to you," he says sadly as he settles his free hand on one of Tina's cheeks.

"You better," Tina sniffs as she leans into his touch, realizing how much she is going to miss this after only getting it back the day before. "or I'll come and look for you myself and kill you."

Tina's comment made the both of them laugh. Tina lets go of Newt's hand and begins to wipe the messy tears off her face, still chuckling at her half-meant joke.

"C'mon, I'll make you breakfast," Newt says to Tina a few seconds later, holding out his hand for her to take. "the least I could do before I leave you again."

"I already ate," Tina replies, gesturing at her other hand to show Newt the coffee she had prepared before she wandered into the sitting room. "besides you wouldn't want to go into the kitchen. If Queenie finds out you're leaving again, you'll be dead even before you even leave."

"She's  _that_  pissed at me, huh?" Newt asks, tilting his head to the side in the adorable way that he always does.

"Mm-hmm," Tina confirms with a nod before taking his hand and dragging him towards the front door and onto the porch. "C'mon let's just sit here for a while."

Tina then takes a seat comically on one of the chairs that have been placed on the front porch for visitors. She looks up at Newt, waiting for him to take the seat next to the table beside her.

Newt ducks his head in amusement, hiding his smile from his girlfriend before looking back at her. He finally agrees to sit a while and moves past her, taking the seat to her left. They both look out onto the horizon, past the huge land that was part of the Scamander estate. Tina sips her coffee quietly beside Newt, reveling in the feeling of having the man she loved beside her, even if it meant for only a minute before he had to up and leave again.

Newt sighs in contentment before he looks back at the woman he loves and says, "I'll stay for a week."

Tina's head snaps to look at Newt, shocked that he decided to stay that long instead of just leaving the tomorrow.

"Wha – ? Why?"

Newt inches closer to Tina, taking the hand she had placed on the table separating the two of them and sighing, "As much as you've given me your blessing to go, I don't feel comfortable leaving you so soon after your parents' death."

"Newt, it's been a week, I'm fine," Tina replies half-heartedly.

"No, you're not fine, Tina," Newt tells her firmly, squeezing her hand lightly for comfort. "you only appear to be."

Tina averts her eyes, unable to hold onto Newt's gaze because she knew he would know that she was lying to get him to go.

"If last night was any indication…" Newt trails off, realizing that he won't be able to get her to admit that she was not okay. "Besides, I don't want you to resent me years from now for not being there for you for the hardest moment of your life."

"And I don't want you to resent me for being the person to keep you from achieving what you've always dreamed," Tina says firmly, looking Newt dead in the eye.

"What's a week more for the woman I love?" Newt mumbles tenderly smiling sweetly at her, his words softening the stone-cold look that Tina had just plastered on him earlier. "The creatures will still be there, but this moment won't anymore."

"You can't actually know that, Newt," Tina replies with a thankful smile, as she firmed her grip on Newt's hand.

"You're right, I can't," Newt confirms with a smile. "all I know, is that I want to be here to support you the way you have been supporting me these past few years. It's my turn to give, Tina. You've always been so giving to me, give me the chance to return the favor."

Tina softens up, turns into a pile of mush at Newt's words. They inch closer to each other and planted a soft kiss on the other's lips before pulling back and settling in comfortably onto the seats they have taken.

"You seem to forget my 17th birthday party," Tina says with a smile after taking a sip from her now cold coffee.

"Excuse me?"

"You said I've always been so giving to you," Tina begins, looking over at Newt with her coffee mug close to her lips. "but you've forgotten about the night of my 17th birthday party. The lavish party? That gift you gave me by the tree, our favorite tree just a few miles from here?"

Newt looks at Tina intently with a puzzled expression, trying to feign confusion as to what she was referring to.

"I haven't forgotten about the song, Newt," Tina says, eyeing Newt as she took the final sip of her morning coffee. "you may not have written it but you told me that night that those words are what you feel for me."

"And they still are."

"You still remember the song?" Tina asks in shock.

"Of course, I do," he replies with a smile. "Did you really think I would give up trying to memorize all the words so I could sing them to you?"

"I didn't think you were serious about that!" Tina exclaims, placing the empty mug on the table and angling her body towards Newt.

"When it comes to promises to you, I am always serious," Newt counters, angling his body towards Tina.

"Yeah, except when it involves staying in London," Tina jabs teasingly at Newt.

"I thought you said you were okay with me leaving?" Newt says, his face solemn and rethinking his decision.

"That was a joke, Newt, lighten up!"

They both laugh, reveling in moments like this where they were together, bantering, teasing, joking, knowing that these moments were rare for the two of them. Their laughter eventually died out and they turned to look at one another, a smile on both of their lips.

"Thank you," Tina says, placing a hand on top of Newt's on the table beside them.

"Whatever for?" Newt asks, a look of confusion all over his eyes.

"For being here," Tina replies with a simple smile, caressing Newt's hand as she does. "even if it's just for a short while."

"Of course."

"It's been a while since I laughed, really laughed" Tina admits to Newt finally, glancing back at the horizon before turning back to look at him. "and I have you to thank for that."

"Don't worry," Newt says reassuringly, placing his other hand on top of hers. "I'll be sure to make you laugh while I'm here."

Tina smiles thankfully at Newt before they both moved back to lounge on the porch and take in the morning sun. Newt than glances back at Tina, mischief all over his face as he said, "Besides, the more you laugh, the more I get to tease you about it later on in the future."

"What makes you sure we even have a future?" Tina replies teasingly.

"Oh, we do, Tina Goldstein," Newt says confidently, his eyes on the horizon as if he was seeing right into his future, right into  _their_  future. "Right now, it's the only thing I'm sure of."

Tina simply smiled at his words, looking at the man beside her and feeling so much love for him in that very moment. She then moves to sit back comfortably and gaze at the horizon, hoping and praying to whatever higher being there is out there, that she would indeed have a future with Newt, that they both would have moments like this to share together.


	4. Chapter 4 Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina reminisces about the milestones of her and Newt's relationship (with a little help from the people who know her the most) as she prepares to walk down the aisle and marry the love of her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I know this took longer than I promised but when you read this chapter you will understand why. Back when I started someone asked me for some back story on how Newtina ended up together in this universe and now I'm here to deliver. I hope this is good and that you enjoy it. I promise I tried. Enjoy and as always I'd want to here what you think!

Tina stares at herself through the floor length mirror in her bridal suite, the same floor length mirror she stared at when she turned 17 for her coming of age party. She surveyed her person, admiring the wedding dress that her talented sister Queenie had designed for her months before today.

Tina admires the reflection she sees in the mirror one piece at a time. She starts at the hem of her dress, which was laced with beautiful, intricate floral designs that only her sister could think of. She travels up and admires how the dress hugs her hips perfectly and how it wraps around her petite waist to showcase her lithe frame. Her eyes travel further up, until she was staring at her own, deep brown eyes that were full of happiness, love, and certainty. Her cheeks were the perfect shade of pink, her lips painted with the faintest red that complimented her skin tone, and her eyes lined with the darkest shade of black, making her brown eyes more noticeable to anyone who catches a glimpse at her.

She raises a hand to her cheek, convincing herself that the person she was seeing in the mirror was indeed her and that this was all indeed happening. She lets out a deep sigh of relief and contentment before she whispers, "This is it. Today is the day I marry Newt Scamander."

* * *

" _Come now Tina, stop making a fuss, it's hard enough understanding this map of our new estate without you throwing a tantrum," Mr. Goldstein exclaims in an annoyed tone at his four-year old daughter. "Come along."_

_A young Tina begrudgingly follows her father as he tries to decipher the map he was carrying, his wife trailing behind him with their other daughter who was almost a year old cradled in her arms._

_"Damn! I think we might have gotten lost, my dear," Mr. Goldstein calls out to his wife behind him, still holding the hand of his four-year old firmly._

" _Oh, John," Mrs. Goldstein lamented behind him. "I told you we should have asked for directions back at the harbor. There's no one here for miles and we've been walking for quite some time."_

" _I'm sorry, my dearest," he apologized, guilt all over his face as he let go of his three-year old daughter's hand and walks over to his wife to relieve her of the weight that she had been carrying. "here, let me take little Queenie off your hands. I'm sure Teenie would be okay with that, right sweetheart?"_

_Just as Mr. Goldstein turned around to check up on Tina, she was gone. The two parents panicked, calling out to their young daughter, hoping that she didn't wander off very far just to get lost in these meadows._

" _Tina!" both parents exclaimed for the hundredth time, walking in opposite directions to cover more ground and yet still no reply._

" _This is not happening," Mrs. Goldstein whimpered, panic engulfing her entire being. "we should have never moved here, John. I told you something like this was going to happen!"_

" _Calm down, Anne," Mr. Goldstein shushed his panicked wife, rubbing gentle strokes against her arm. "we'll find her. She might not have gotten far. You know our Tina, she just loves adventure."_

" _Tina!" Mr. Goldstein calls out again._

_Silence._

" _Excuse me, sir," calls a sweet voice across the meadow. The Goldsteins search for the source of the voice but couldn't find it, but they hear it again. "Up here, sir, madam."_

_Both parents turned to look up at the sky and right above them was a young boy riding what looked like an eagle that had a body of a horse._

" _Are you lost?" the young boy calls out to them in inquiry._

" _Yes," Mr. Goldstein replied. "and we seemed to have lost our daughter as well. Can you see her from up there?"_

_The young boy urges his flying pet forward, searching the meadows for a young girl just like the two strangers had asked. A few miles south he found a young girl wandering deeper into the meadow, fear absent from her eyes. She was chasing a winged creature, it occupied all of her attention that she didn't seem to notice that she had been separated from her parents. The young boy urged his pet towards the ground in haste, wanting to catch up to the girl before she wanders even deeper into the meadow that even he wouldn't be able to reunite her with her parents._

_He landed only a few feet away from her and calls out, "Hello there!"_

_This startles a young Tina Goldstein that she forgets about the winged creature she was chasing. She turns around to see where the voice had come from and she was met by a tall, slender young boy._

" _Your parents are looking for you," He pointed out calmly from where he was standing. "they're worried sick."_

" _Who are you?" Young Tina inquires, suspicious of the young boy who just came flying down from the sky with his flying pet. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"_

" _I'm Newt, Newt Scamander," Young Newt replies enthusiastically, grinning from ear-to-ear as he offers his hand in a gentlemanly fashion, the way his father taught him to._

_Tina looks at him warily, unsure if she should trust this Newt person. He might be a dark wizard posing as a child._

" _And you know that I'm telling the truth because I have no reason to lie to you," Newt adds bluntly, one of his hands still extended for her to take while the other was on his back. "I did see your parents a few miles from here, and they've been calling for you for a good while now. You're Tina, right?"_

" _How do you know that?" Tina asks defensively as she inches away from Newt who was now walking towards her, hand still outstretched._

" _It's what those folks out there have been calling out for the past minute and a half," Newt answers, his eyebrows knitted together in concentration, trying to explain to the little girl in front of him that he meant no harm._

_Tina considers Newt for a moment, still not willing to trust this stranger in this strange land._

" _Their names are John and Anne," he adds, hoping that this information would make this cautious young lady trust him implicitly so that he could finally take her back to her worried parents._

_Tina stops inching away from Newt as he approaches her slowly, his trusted flying pet following behind him. He reaches her a few steps later and offers out his hand one last time and says, "It's nice to meet you, Miss Tina – "_

" _Goldstein," she interjects, starting to reach for his hand. "Porpentina Goldstein."_

_Newt takes her hand in his and places a light kiss on it, just like his father taught him. This startled Tina, she wasn't used to being greeted like a lady, let alone by someone as young as this Newt boy._

" _I like your name," Newt admits as he releases her hand, his own rejoining the other one on his lower back._

" _I like it too," she replies with a smile, her distrust of the strange boy finally disappearing._

" _Now, may I escort you back to your parents, milady," Newt inquires playfully in a very adorable gentlemanly manner. "they must be so worried about you."_

" _Yes, you may, kind sir," Tina replies in the most ladylike tone she could muster while fake bowing, playing along with her newfound friend._

" _Very well, then."_

_Newt approaches Tina and takes her hand lightly. He pulls he towards his flying pet and introduces Tina to him. "Tina, this is Phineas. He's a hippogriff." Newt then turned to the hippogriff and said, "Phineas, this is Tina, my new friend."_

_Newt's last statement made Tina smile. She never actually had the chance to make friends back in America. And now all of sudden, just when she had arrived in a new place, a new place that would become her home, she met a young boy who willingly wanted to be her friend even though he knew nothing about her._

" _What's a hippogriff?"_

" _Uhm, uh," Newt stammers, his face screwed up in concentration as he wracked his little brain for a way to explain to his new friend what a hippogriff is. "it's a magical creature. He has an upper body of an eagle and the lower body of a horse."_

_Newt then runs to the side of Phineas and points excitedly at his wings. "And it's because he's half eagle that he can fly!"_

_Tina jogs on after Newt and looks at the hippogriff's huge wings in awe. "Wow!"_

" _You wanna fly, Tina?" Newt asked excitedly, an invitation already out of him before he could think about it._

" _Yes! Yes! YES!" she replied excitedly clapping her hands together and running towards the back of the hippogriff, ready to mount it._

" _No, no, no, wait," Newt warns as his new friend got closer to Phineas. "he doesn't know you yet. You must make him trust you first before you can ride him."_

" _How?"_

" _Come here," Newt motions for Tina to follow his lead. He positions himself in front of his friend Phineas and looks deeply into the hippogriff's eye, never loosing eye contact. The young boy then made a slight bow without breaking the eye contact he had with the flying beast, waiting for it to bow back. A few minutes passed until Phineas finally returned the bow and allowed Newt to pet him. It was then that Newt turned to Tina and waved her over._

" _C'mon, it's your turn!"_

_Tina nervously stepped up to the creature, starting to make eye contact with it. It screeched for a split second and scared Tina a little, but Newt's reassuring hand was there to lead his new friend back to the creature. This gave Tina more courage to get this beast's trust. She kept eye contact and bowed slowly, hoping that Phineas would consider her a friend as well and bow in return._

_It didn't take long for the creature to bow and before they knew it, Newt and Tina were up in the air, their gleeful screams being drowned by the wind. Newt spots the Goldsteins a little farther north, right where he left them, so he urged Phineas forward. He heard the screech of another hippogriff beside him and he turned to find his mother and father riding their own hippogriffs. Tina startled when she saw the two new additions but trusted that Newt won't lead her into any trouble._

_Newt landed his hippogriff a few moments later, only a few feet away from the Goldsteins while his parents landed theirs a few feet from him. He gets off Phineas and helps Tina off the magnificent beast._

_Tina immediately runs to her parents and hugs both of them as tightly as she can. The Scamanders approached their son, their respective hippogriffs in tow. Mr. Scamander placed a proud hand on his son's shoulder while Mrs. Scamander showered him with kisses._

" _Oh, thank you!" Mrs. Goldstein exclaimed in gratitude, looking from Newt to his parents, fussing over her three-year old daughter and showering her with hugs and kisses. "Thank you for bringing her back to us safe."_

" _You're welcome, madam," Newt replies a little unsure of himself, an innocent look on his face, his eyes blinking furiously as he observed the little girl he just "saved"._

" _Hello there, I'm John," Mr. Goldstein supplies as he approached Mr. Scamander with his arm outstretched. The two men shake hands before Mr. Goldstein turns back to his wife and adds, "this is my wife, Anne, and our two daughters, Tina and Queenie."_

_Tina smiles at the two adults beside Newt and gives them a tiny wave at the mention of her name._

" _It's nice to meet all of you," Mr. Scamander replies. "I am Perseus, but you can call me Percy, and this is my wife, Diana."_

_Mrs. Scamander simply nods at the Goldsteins, calmly petting her hippogriff who was always adamant to meet new people._

" _And who might this heroic young boy be?" Mrs. Goldstein asks immediately when neither parent introduced their son to them._

" _That's Newt, mama," Tina blurts out from where she was standing, her eyes fixed on Newt's. "and he brought me back to you. Safe."_

" _That he did, Teenie," Mr. Scamander confirmed, his voice laced with so much gratitude. "thank you for bringing her back to me safe, young man."_

_Mr. Goldstein extended a hand for Newt to shake as a sign of his gratitude. The young boy wasn't sure what to do so he looked to his parents for help._

" _Come on, Newton," Mr. Scamander nodded encouragingly at his son. "just like a taught you."_

_Young Newt walked timidly to Mr. Goldstein and grasped the older man's hand as firmly as he could and gave it a light shake. He looked up at the older man unafraid and gave him a charming smile that brought a smile to the older man's face. "You're welcome, sir."_

_Newt peers at Tina, who was smiling so brightly at him before he walks back over to his parents, waiting for them to tell him they were heading back home._

" _Did you lot get lost?" Mrs. Scamander inquires when she notices the haggard expressions that were all over both older Goldstein's faces._

" _Yes, sadly, we have," Mrs. Goldstein confirm, taking a fussy Queenie from her husband. "we recently decided to move here for our children but for the life of me, we couldn't understand how to get to our new home."_

" _Then you must be our new neighbors. The Goldsteins, I presume?"_

" _Yes, that's us," both adults nodded in unison._

" _We were told of your arrival a few days ago," Mr. Scamander pointed out, petting his restless hippogriff now too. "that's why we've been flying these hippogriffs every afternoon in case our new neighbors would get lost."_

" _It's a lucky thing we did," Mrs. Scamander chimed in gleefully. "or you would've gotten more lost than you already are."_

" _And we are eternally grateful," Mr. Goldstein admits._

" _Well, come on then," Mrs. Scamander commanded, waving the Goldsteins over towards them. "the estate isn't that far from here by foot. The only way you could get lost out here is if you took the wrong turn. And mind you, that's so easy to do with such a wide, open field like this."_

" _I agree," Mrs. Goldstein murmured in agreement. "thank you so much for offering to help us."_

" _Of course," Mrs. Scamander remarks as she waves at them to follow her, her husband in tow. "what are neighbors for after all?"_

_The adults start to walk southwest from where they were standing, wives leading the way, with the husbands right behind them, starting up a conversation. The adults were busy talking about the neighborhood and the two estates that were located in the meadow that they've failed to notice that neither of their children were following them._

_Newt and Tina were having a quiet conversation with their eyes, both rooted in the spot they've stood ever since the landed. A silent agreement seemed to have formed between the two when Tina calls out to her mother._

" _Mama," Tina calls out as Newt faces the adults whose heads were turning back to acknowledge the voice of the little girl who just spoke. "is it okay if Newt and I rode Phineas back to our new home?"_

" _Phineas?" Mr. Goldstein asks in confusion. "Who is Phineas?"_

" _He's my hippogriff, sir," Newt replies proudly. "I've taken care of him since he was a fledgling. He's never gotten me lost, not once."_

_The amount of conviction Newt's eyes endeared the young boy to both Tina's parents, that they couldn't say no._

" _Just promise you'll keep her safe," Mr. Goldstein pleads firmly with Newt._

" _I promise to always bring her back to you safe, sir," Newt promises with all the conviction he had at such a young age._

" _Very well," Mr. Goldstein replies with a smile as he hears squeals of excitement come from both children. "we'll see you both soon, okay?"_

" _Okay, daddy!"_

" _Newton, young Miss Tina here is your responsibility now," Mr. Scamander impresses on his son, his eyes burrowing into Newt's soul. "remember what I taught you, son."_

" _Always protect what you're responsible for." Newt recites as if his father's words were his own mantra._

_Perseus Scamander nods proudly at his youngest son before he and his new friend got onto his trusted hippogriff, Phineas._

" _And don't forget you're feeding Phineas as soon as you get home!" Mrs. Scamander calls out after Newt as the two children take off for flight, soaring higher and higher into the air until they were only a tiny dot in the infinite sky._

" _I feel like there's something there," Mrs. Scamander whispers as quietly as she could to Mrs. Goldstein._

" _Oh dear," was all Mrs. Goldstein could say before she and her new friend and neighbor chuckled at the possibility of their two children ever falling in love._

* * *

Tina was broken out of her reminiscing by a light knock on the door. She turned to see who it was and found that it was her soon-to-be mother in-law, Diana Scamander.

"Oh, my dear, you look so beautiful," Diana gushed as she walked over to Tina to admire her in her wedding dress.

Tina chuckles nervously, moving away from the floor length mirror she was standing in front of, walking towards the woman she already considered a mother. The older woman pulls her in for a hug, one Tina returned eagerly.

"Thank you, Diana."

"Whatever for, dear?" Diana asked in surprise, pulling away from Tina to look into her soon-to-be daughter-in-law's eyes.

"For everything," Tina adds, smiling tearfully at the woman in front of her. "for rescuing us when we got lost the day we arrived here. For that really grandiose coming of age party you and Percy threw for me. For being a second mother to Queenie and me. You've always been there for us. You and Percy both."

Tina sniffles, a stray tear escaping and finding its way down her face. She was quick to catch the tear so that Diana wouldn't have to. "Especially when mama and daddy died."

A sob escapes Tina despite all her efforts to stay strong. She feels strong arms wrap around her and she sinks into them like a child did when it was hurting.

Diana holds her for a little while, not saying anything, allowing the bride to cry the tears she had kept in for years.

"Oh, look at me," Tina says a few moments later, realizing how much of a mess she was going to make if she continued on like this. "this is supposed to be the happiest day of my life, yet here I am crying over something that has long since passed."

"Tina, my dear, don't say that," Diana consoled, running her hands against Tina's back to sooth her. "the loss of a parent will never pass. Not in a million years. You're allowed to feel sad that they aren't here to celebrate important moments in your life. Especially momentous occasions like today."

Tina sniffs again, wiping her face dry of tears, realizing that what Diana was saying was absolutely true. She ducks her head, shielding herself from the only mother she had left and allows herself to cry silently at the feeling of loss that came creeping back in since a week ago.

"D'you wanna know what I think?" Diana says out of the blue after giving Tina a few minutes to herself. She then tucks her index finger against Tina's chin and lifts her head up so that their eyes met. "I think that your parents are extremely proud of the woman you have become."

Tina smiled and chuckled through her tears, thankful that Diana was trying to cheer her up in her own little way.

"And I know with all my heart that they'd want you to be happy," Diana continues, trying to find the right words to comfort Tina. "because you deserve to be happy more than anyone else I know."

"Thank you," was all Tina could muster herself to say.

Diana pulls her in for a final hug. It was brief, but very reassuring. "Welcome to the family, dear."

Tina lets out a laugh, the very first laugh she had let out since last week. She felt so much love and gratitude to Diana at that moment that she just blurts out, "Thank you for raising Newt to be the man I fell in love with."

Diana turns back around and stays rooted to the spot she was standing, unable to say a word.

"Despite all that I have lost over the years, I never lost him." Tina begins solemnly, looking at Diana and holding back all the emotions that were threatening to escape her through her eyes. "Not once. And thank Merlin for that."

Diana stood rooted on the spot, still dumbstruck by what Tina just revealed to her about how much her son meant to her.

"He makes me happy, Diana," Tina admits, so much truth and conviction in her otherwise shaky voice. "he makes me extremely happy."

She smiles and considers herself before she decides to continue, "and after the death of my parents, I never thought that possible. But somehow he managed to do it even from a million miles away."

"Thank  _you_ , dear," Diana says when she finally finds the right words to sum up what she was feeling at that moment. "what you've just said about Newt, it's all a mother would want to hear from the woman who is about to marry her son."

The two women hugged each other tightly, the love for the very same man pulling them together, bonding them, anchoring them in that moment.

"We really need to stop with all the tears," Diana interjects jokingly after a while. "If we continue at this rate I don't think there will be any magic left in this world that would conceal all the smudged makeup on both of us because of the crying."

Tina laughs heartily at her soon-to-be mother-in-law, wiping the tears from her face clumsily, not the least bit concerned that her sister would murder her for ruining her masterpiece.

"I agree," Tina replies in between sniffs, wiping stray tears from her face and waving her wand at herself to fix the smudges. "Newt might not want to marry me if I looked like a zombie walking down the aisle.

Diana laughs heartily at Tina's comment, springing a laugh from the bride herself. "He'll marry you even if you looked like the ugliest mountain troll on the planet."

Tina chuckled once again before waving her wand at Diana to eliminate the last few smudges on her face before the older woman said, "And you don't my dear."

Diana walks off towards the door, leaving Tina stunned at her words. She opens the door and turns back to the younger woman.

"Let's just hope Newt doesn't look the way he did after that Ironbelly incident at Hogwarts," Diana comments jokingly with a wink, before leaving Tina dreading the idea of Newt looking like that ever again.

"I sure hope not," Tina says to herself as she turns her back against the door and peers out the window, remembering the exact moment she realized she was in love with one Newt Scamander.

* * *

_Tina was rushing through the familiar corridors of Hogwarts that led to the hospital wing. She had never been admitted herself but as a prefect she has escorted countless students there. She ran as fast as her feet would take her, up a couple of flights of stairs and past dozens of students and a few snogging teenagers. Her surroundings were a blur, she didn't care who she ran into as long as she got to the hospital wing immediately._

_She arrived at the entrance of the room she intended to go to and was out of breath from running from greenhouses where her Herbology glass was assigned to the tower housing the hospital wing. Without knocking, Tina pushes the heavy doors with all the strength she could muster and searched the beds to look for the one person she needed to see, Newt._

_News spread around the castle that a seventh-year student almost got burned alive by a dragon, a Ukranian Ironbelly, rumors said. Tina only knew of one foolhardy idiot that would even attempt to tame a dragon despite the lack of information on the species and she was going to murder that idiot as soon as she finds him._

_Madam Pomfrey hurried over to her to ask her what was her emergency, what were her symptoms? The Mediwitch continued to fuss over her until Tina bellowed, "I'm not sick, okay? I'm here to see if Newt Scamander is alright."_

" _Right," Madam Pomfrey says, a little taken aback at the tone a student was taking with her, but she relented and led the teenager to a bed at the back of the hospital wing, concealed from prying eyes of gossip mongers. "right this way, Miss Goldstein."_

_Tina follows Madam Pomfrey through the doors at the far end of the room, surprised that there was a section to the wing that she had never been to. She always thought that Madam Pomfrey's office was what was past those doors and not more beds for students to stay in._

_The room changed as soon as Tina stepped inside. There were hardly any beds in this room, she could only count four._

" _We use this room for special cases," Madam Pomfrey informs a confused Tina._

" _And being almost burned to death by a dragon_ is  _a special case," Tina mutters angrily under her breath._

" _Pretty much," Madam Pomfrey replies before leading Tina to the bed that contained one Newt Scamander propped up against the hospital bed he was in. "I'll leave you two alone to talk."_

_Madam Pomfrey exits the room as quietly as she can as Tina glares at a half-bandaged Newt Scamander on the bed that she was standing in front of._

" _What…the…_ hell _…were YOU THINKING?!" Tina exclaims angrily, her whole body shaking with anger, her eyes burning with rage. "'Oh, look a dragon. He looks peaceful maybe I should poke it with a stick and see if it does indeed breathe fire.' ARE YOU INSANE?!"_

" _Tina, calm down, it's not as bad as it looks," Newt says as he attempts to calm down a furious Tina and to make her stop yelling at him._

" _Not bad as it looks?!" Tina yells in disbelief. "Newt, half your body is bandaged to cover and heal the burns you sustained. How the hell is that 'not as bad as it looks?'"_

" _It really isn't," Newt admits, as he attempts albeit painfully to move. "See? I can still get my own glass of water."_

" _You think this is funny?" Tina snapped as she placed both her hands on either side of her waist. "You could have died, Newt. What would you have me do then, huh?"_

" _Why do_ you _care so much if I lived or died," Newt barked back, trying to cross his arms across his chest but failing. "it's not like you've talked to me since term started. Hell, you've been ignoring me since summer and now all of a sudden you act all high and mighty pretending to care about my safety? Why Tina? After all that silence why now?"_

" _Because I'm in love with you, you moron!"_

_The world stopped for both Newt and Tina. They both could feel every single second tick by as their eyes were on each other, a silent fight ensuing between the two of them. Ragged breaths could be heard from the room as if they both ran a marathon and decided to stop for air._

" _You what?" Newt asks in shock, wanting to hear the words come out from Tina's mouth again, just to be sure that he heard her right._

" _You heard me," Tina replies, crossing her arms over her chest, pleading at Newt with her eyes. "please don't make me say it again."_

" _But why not?" Newt asks again, his healthier hand reaching out for Tina, asking for her to approach his bed._

" _Because…" Tina trails off as she walks over to Newt and takes the seat directly beside his bed, never taking her eyes off his._

_She reaches him, her arms outstretched, her hands grasping lightly on the hand he held out for her to take. She squeezes lightly and sees him wince in discomfort, so she loosens her grip before taking a seat._

_She couldn't find the right words to answer his question. All she knew in that moment that there was something magnetic that was pulling her towards the idiot on the bed who almost got himself killed. All she knew and felt was that uncharacteristic pull he had on her, pulling her closer and closer to him until she could feel his lips on hers. A current radiated throughout her entire body as her lips moved against Newt's. It was as if a world that was once chaotic finally made sense. It was like having a mythical wrong be turned right. She would have gladly stayed in this position forever, but the need for air was too great so she decided to break away._

_A disappointment spread through Tina as she felt her lips disconnect from Newt's. Her eyes met his and she could see the same disappointment reflected in his green eyes mixed with delight and astonishment. Tina could feel her heart beating fast against her chest. She could feel and hear her pulse beating against her eardrums. She had a million questions racing through her mind and she was trying to find the answer in Newt's, whose eyes were laced with more questions of his own instead of the answers that Tina was searching for._

_And then suddenly, in just a blink of an eye, everything fell into place. Tina understood now. All the questions she had racing through her mind right now were irrelevant. All that mattered right here, right now was him. Newt._

" _I love you," she says again, this time surer of the words that were coming from her mouth, a hint of a smile on her lips. "I love you, Newt."_

_She laughs for the first time since she stepped into the room and stands from where she was sitting. She crushes her lips once again on his, more fiercely this time, but also very delicately so that she wasn't hurting him. She felt him slip his tongue into her mouth, their kiss becoming more fiery and passionate than the first. Their tongues danced against each other's for the first time. Their bodies moved together as if they were one. Arms roamed, trying to touch and feel every surface of the body the could get on. His lips on hers, her tongue battling his, their bodies so close to each other that space wasn't even a concept anymore. And it felt right._

_The two lovers were broken apart when they heard someone behind them clear their throat softly. Newt and Tina turned to look at who interrupted their severely heated snogging session, both a little flustered. The both turned even redder if that was even possible when they saw Diana Scamander by the door, with the headmaster right behind her, embarrassment filling every part of their being._

_Tina moves away from Newt, letting go of his hand and walks over to the opposite side of the bed to allow Newt's mother to the take the seat that she was previously occupying._

" _Mu…mu…mum, hello," Newt stammered sitting up as he tries to look his mother in the eye after catching him and the girl who lived next door snogging like rabid animals._

" _Newton Scamander," she began, her voice a very deadly tone that was rarely heard of in the Scamander home. "how many times have I told you not TO EXPERIMENT WITH MAGICAL CREATURES?!"_

_Diana goes on to grab the latest issue of the Daily Prophet lying by her son's bedside table and proceeds to hitting her 17-year old with it as if he was a little boy again._

" _Mum, stop it!" Newt complains, trying and failing to avoid his mother's smacking with Tina snickering silently in the background. "that hurts!"_

" _Serves you right, young man!" Diana exclaims, finally putting down the battered copy of the Daily Prophet back on the bedside table. "You nearly gave your father and me a heart attack."_

" _Mum, I'm fine, really."_

" _Fine? FINE?!" Diana's rage started to rise again, her face turning red. "You could have been killed by that dragon, Newton."_

" _I know, mum, I know," Newt admits, ducking his head at time to prepare for a moment where he thought his mother would hit him again. "Tina has got all of that covered. She already yelled at me before you got here."_

" _Oh, did she now?" Diana questioned as she crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her death glare from Newt to Tina. Tina gulped and slowly started to shrink smaller and smaller into herself, trying to avoid having to discuss what had just transpired between Newt and herself with his own mother._

_Growing up, Tina saw countless times how Diana Scamander got when she was angry, but despite that, she had never been on the receiving end of any of it. Right now, might be the first time she will be. Tina starts to prepare herself for whatever nasty little comment Mrs. Scamander was going to throw her way when she was met with, "Thank you, Tina. Finally, someone who can knock some sense into this idiot I have for a son."_

_Tina relaxes once she heard Diana's voice return to its regular register, relieved that she didn't decide to pull the 'you're-not-good-enough-for-my-son' card on her. She chuckles and places a hand on one of Newt's slightly burned shoulders before saying, "I'll make sure he stays in line, Mrs. Scamander."_

" _Now, now, you don't have to call me, Mrs. Scamander all of a sudden just because you're my son's girlfriend," Diana points out, a mischievous smile on her face._

_Both Newt and Tina blushed so hard again it looked like they both had allergic reactions to something. Tina hides her face behind her hands while Newt ducks his head in embarrassment and stammers, "Oh, mum, c'mon, she's not my… I mean we haven't talked about it yet…this is really none of your business."_

" _Oh, hush," Diana retorts with finality. "I know a snog when I see one son. No need to be ashamed both of you. It's about time, really. I was beginning to think you both would die before either of you admitted you had feelings for each other."_

_This revelation caught them both off guard. Apparently, Mrs. Scamander knew about their hidden feelings for each other but they both weren't sure of it until that moment._

" _Don't worry, dears," Diana adds as she sees the surprised expression on the two teenagers' face. "I won't tell your father," she nods at Newt, "or either of your parents," she nods at Tina, "I'll leave that responsibility entirely up to you young lovers."_

_A mischievous glint could be seen from Mrs. Scamander's eye as she bid her farewells to the young couple, leaving a few reminders for her son to stay out of trouble._

_As soon as they were alone, both teenagers groaned while Tina slumped down onto the seat beside Newt and blurted out, "Well that was the most humiliating experience of my life."_

" _And mine," Newt chimes in agreement. "but I don't care."_

_With much difficulty, he brings one of his hands to Tina's cheeks and caresses it for the very first time. "I've gotten you to admit you loved me. Turns out almost getting killed by a dragon has its perks after all."_

_Newt smiled smugly at Tina, their faces only mere inches apart._

" _So that's what all this was about?" Tina inquires in disbelief, her 'you're-an-idiot' face plastered on. "You tried to get yourself killed so that I'll tell you I love you?"_

" _Well, not exactly," Newt replies, slumping back to the comforts of the hospital bed. "I really did want to learn new things about the Ukrainian Ironbelly – "_

" _Oh, so the rumors were true, it_ was _a Ukrainian Ironbelly," Tina interjects, her eyebrows raised at Newt as if she was judging him more._

" _Yes, it was," Newt confirms with a grunt. "and god bless that devilish bastard. Because of it I got the best gift I could ever ask for, an I love you from you."_

" _You're a moron, you know that," Tina states matter-of-factly, shaking her head at Newt._

" _A moron you love?" Newt states more than he asks, feigning innocence._

" _A moron I love," Tina confirms with a nod and an eyeroll before Newt plants a chaste kiss on her lips._

" _Well aren't you at least going to say it back?" Tina asks in anticipation as they broke apart, her arms crossed over her chest, waiting for him to confirm her suspicions even though she felt desperate for asking him to say it back._

_Newt smiles a little too smugly for Tina's tastes before he finally utters softly and tenderly, "I love you too."_

* * *

Tina smiles at herself as she ducks her head, a giddy feeling spreading throughout her entire body just like the feeling she got when she first kissed Newt.

"Well, that's a sight to behold," says a voice coming from the opposite side of the room that it startled Tina.

"Queenie, you almost gave me a heart attack."

"I'm sorry," Queenie apologizes as she walks towards her big sister. "I'm just admiring your smile. It's been a while since I've seen it."

"Well, there hasn't been much to smile about," Tina replies a little bitterly, her smile completely fading.

Queenie frowns before she takes her sister in for a warm hug. Tina leans into Queenie and takes in the familiar sent of the only blood-related family she had left.

"I know," Queenie admits as she lets go of her sister and steadies the both of them. "but today is one of the few reasons to smile. You're finally marrying Newt, everything is right in the world."

Tina rolls her eyes at Queenie an at how sappy her sister gets when it comes to her and Newt.

"You know I wasn't really a fan of Newt traveling so much after mama and daddy's death," Queenie continues, taking her sister's arm and tucking her own against them. "but he really was one of the few people who could make you genuinely smile. I couldn't even do that."

"Queenie, I…"

"You don't need to apologize, Teenie," Queenie interjected, reassuring her sister that she understood why Tina was the way she was. "I understand more than anyone else, more than you know. It was hard for me to smile after we lost our parents, but I had you and I'm just so thankful that you had Newt to be the one who made you smile and take care of you. Because you were so worried about me, you forgot about yourself. But Newt never forgot about you and he never forgot to take care of you. Even though he wasn't here half the time."

Tina smiles thankfully at her sister, a genuine smile. She takes Queenie's hands in her own and squeezes them as a single tear escaped her eye, thankful that someone noticed how much Newt had done for her. People kept telling her how Newt was lucky to have her in his life but truthfully it was the other way around. She was lucky to have him in her life. And she was so happy that someone finally understood that.

"He is really awesome, isn't he?" Tina asks playfully, trying to lighten the mood between them so that no more tears get shed at the expense of this wedding.

Queenie nods in excitement, so much delight in her eyes. The younger Goldstein begins to blabber on about the amazing things Newt had done for Tina over the years of their relationship. She started with the late night walks the two young lovebirds had at Hogwarts the year they started dating. Then she went on excitedly talking about how the wedding feels so much like the 17th birthday party the Scamanders threw for Tina because Newt had insisted that they do simply because he wanted to show Tina how much she meant to her. She then started squealing about how Newt was the perfect boyfriend after he graduated Hogwarts but never failed to visit Tina when he can while she was still in school. Tina nodded away happily as her sister went on to quote every single letter Newt had sent her since he started traveling for his book, shaking her head at herself and regretting that she even allowed Queenie to read all of Newt's letters.

"But you know what, Queenie?" Tina says after Queenie quoted the last letter Newt every sent Tina that told her about the last days of his travels and how excited he was to get home. "Of all the things you had just listed, you didn't mention the best thing I ever got from Newt."

"I'm pretty sure I just narrated your entire love story, Teenie," Queenie quipped. "What else could there possibly be?"

"You forgot to mention our first date, Queenie."

"But you never told me about it, Teenie," Queenie replies a little taken aback that there was one secret in the Goldstein-Scamander relationship that she didn't know about.

"Oh, but I did Queenie," Tina says smugly, obviously knowing more about what happened than her sister did. "I just took away the memories of me telling you after I told you about it."

"Oh my god, why would you do that?" Queenie asks in shock, now a little hurt that her sister would unknowingly obliviate her.

"I don't know," Tina answers, her mind slowly drifting towards the loveliest date that Newt had ever set up for her. "I guess I just wanted to keep that one between the two of us."

* * *

_Tina jogs quietly past the little garden that their family had in their small estate. She turns to look back at the house, making sure that no one was following her and that everyone was asleep, she wouldn't want to get caught by either of her parents sneaking out at this late hour._

_When she realized that the coast was clear, Tina walked over to the picket fence that was separating the Goldstein and the Scamander Estate. She carefully tries to walk over the fence without injuring herself or ripping the fancy dress that she had put on for this stupid thing that Newt had planned for them_

" _What could he possibly have planned for us that it had to happen in the middle of the night?" Tina mumbles to herself as she started to job quietly past the back garden of the Scamander Estate._

_**Meet me by the Hippogriff nests at midnight. Wear something nice. – N** _

_That was all that Newt had written on the note that he had delivered secretly to her room earlier that day._

" _I swear to god, if I get grounded for this I'm breaking up with him."_

_Tina continues to jog silently past the familiar path towards where the Scamanders kept their hippogriffs._

" _Newt!" Tina hisses silently as she got to the nests, looking for the man she was meeting. "Newt are you here?"_

_Silence._

" _Newt!" she hisses again, hoping that the bastard would show up so that they can go and evade discovery. "Newt, I'm serious. This isn't funny. If we get caught – !"_

_Suddenly a hand covers Tina's mouth while the other wraps around her waist, holding her firmly in place. A panic started to rise over Tina as a million kidnapping scenarios start to flood her mind. She struggles and tries to free herself from the hold of whoever it was that had taken a hold of her, but he was too strong. She continues to whimper through the callused hands of the man that held her captive when she felt herself turn in the darkness, her captor turning her around to face him._

" _Sssshhh," Newt says as he and Tina were face to face, his hands still on her mouth and on her waist. "you'll get us caught!"_

_Tina finally finds the strength to pull Newt's hand away from her mouth. "Are you mad?! You don't sneak up on a girl like that in the middle of the night!"_

_Newt loosens his hold on his girlfriend, finally giving her some space to move. "I'm sorry but you were too loud, my mother would have caught us, yet again."_

_Tina fixes a glare at her boyfriend, a glare she was unable to hold because he was giving her his best puppy dog face because he knew that softens her up real easy. Her anger towards him easily subsides and she simply smacks him playfully in face muttering, "Dork," before crossing her arms and asking, "So why did you summon me here, at this late hour?"_

" _I just wanted to see you," Newt answers, pulling her in by the waist and planting a kiss on her lips._

_Tina smiles as her lips moved against Newt's, that giddy feeling she got every time she kissed him spreading throughout her entire body. She wraps her arms around Newt's neck and pulls him closer to her, deepening their kiss, feeling Newt's tongue slip into her mouth._

" _You look beautiful in the dress by the way," Newt added, making Tina smile before he kissed her again._

_The young couple broke apart a few moments later, breathing raggedly as they attempted to fill their lungs with air._

" _So, you summoned me in the middle of the night just so we could snog?" Tina inquires, raising her eyebrows playfully at Newt._

" _No, it's not that," Newt replies a little defensively. "I just realized that ever since we told each other how we really felt that I've never really taken you out on a real date."_

" _Oh, Newt, you don't really have to," Tina replies, trying to comfort him as she saw guilt etched all over his face. "I'm fine with how things are going with us right now."_

" _Well, I'm not," Newt interjects. "I've wanted you for a long time, Tina. And I can't exactly pinpoint the exact moment where I stopped seeing you as simply my best friend but as someone I'm attracted to. And now that we've finally gotten here to this point, I just want to spoil you in any way I can."_

_Tina smiles endearingly at Newt, raising one of her hands to caress Newt's cheek. She plants a soft, chaste kiss on his lips before she says, "You don't need to try and impress me anymore, Newt. You've already gotten me."_

" _And I intend to keep you for as long as you'll have me," Newt counters, looking Tina dead in the eye, trying to tell her that he was serious about their relationship._

_Newt disentangles himself from Tina and starts to walk to the nest of a dear friend. He holds its gaze and bows, later on tugging on its reigns when it finally bowed back. He walked back over to Tina, a smile plastered on his face._

" _Care to take a ride with me, Miss Goldstein?" Newt asks grinning._

" _Only if you allow me to hold the reigns for a change," Tina replies cockily, snatching the reigns away from Newt's hand and bowing at their old friend Phineas before running her hands against his wings. "would you be okay with that, Phin?"_

_The hippogriff screeched happily, which made Tina smile. She turned her head towards her boyfriend, challenging him to tell her no. But he doesn't, he just smiles proudly at her and allows her to take the reigns and mount the majestic creature. He then follows her lead and sits behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding onto her firmly._

" _Fine, I'll let you to fly for a while," Newt says proudly, snuggling up against Tina and resting his chin on one of her shoulders. "but you'll have to give me the reigns at some point or we won't be able to go where I was planning to take you tonight on our first date."_

_Tina smiles at him before shaking her head and saying, "Charmer."_

_Newt chuckles before waving his wand and covering them both up in warm coats, making sure that neither of them would get too chilly because of the night air. Tina clicks her tongue at Phineas, pulling on his reigns at the same time and leading the creature into flight. The cold wind blew past the faces of the two lovers as they laughed and screamed merrily in flight, knowing that neither of their parents would even hear them._

_After a couple of minutes of flying, Newt finally asked Tina for the reigns, which she gave to him willingly. He steers his friend hippogriff in the right direction and started to descend to a well-lit area._

_Tina squints a little as the hippogriff lowers them slowly and realizes that they were back at the Scamander Estate._

_Newt successfully lands the hippogriff and gets off Phineas first, holding out his hand to Tina to help her off. She takes his hand and jumps off Phineas and turns to ask Newt, "You set up our date at your estate?"_

" _Yes," he replied proudly, petting his friend and whispering senseless nothings to the hippogriff. "Theseus helped me with the lighting and making sure mum and dad don't even notice that we're here."_

" _Wait, Theseus knows about us?!" Tina exclaims._

" _Yes," Newt replies a little nervously, sensing that there must be something wrong with the way he had planned their first date if Tina was reacting this way. "I had to ask his help on where to take you. I'm not exactly an expert on relationships and he is."_

" _Newt!"_

" _What? Queenie knows about us and I was fine with that." Newt countered._

" _That's different," Tina replies defensively, fidgeting a little, realizing that if they don't stop discussing this they would end up fighting for the first time since the hospital wing. "she's my sister. I tell her everything."_

" _Well, Theseus is my brother," Newt replies confidently, starting to feel a little hurt that Tina would think that her relationship with her sister was more important than the one he had with his brother. "and we might not have the kind of relationship that you and Queenie do but he has really helped me out when it came to you and how to impress you."_

_Tina fidgeted even more, feeling a little guilty about the way she just treated Newt. She walked over to Newt and took his hand in hers, squeezing it lightly, "I'm sorry. I didn't want to invalidate your relationship with your brother. I just didn't know that we were telling anybody else."_

" _It's okay," Newt replies, squeezing her hand back before tugging on it and leading her towards the place he had set up a little picnic for them. "let's just forget about that and just go on with our date."_

_Tina nods and allows Newt to lead her past the lights that were illuminating the path that she realized led to the tree that she loved so much. The tree had white Christmas lights over its branches which illuminated the scene below it. Tina observes the setting in wonder, loosening her grip on Newt's hand until finally their hands were separated._

_Tina was rooted on the spot, amazed at how beautiful the scene was with all the beautiful lights that seemed to come alive. She was in awe of how Newt was able to make such a simple, beautiful place come alive with only lights and how it looked even more beautiful than it did in the daylight._

_Tina could feel tears start to form in her eyes as they started to fall from the branches of trees to meet the eyes of the man responsible for all of this. Her eyes met Newt's, his eyes shining with awe and adoration at the sight of her happy. Tina beams at Newt with pride, her own eyes shining with happiness and admiration at how dedicated he was to making this one night special for the both of them, especially for her._

_Newt held out his hand to her, one she took immediately. They held hands, swinging them lightly as they strolled until they reached the picnic that Newt had laid out for them._

" _I know it's not as grand as any first date someone else could have set up," Newt starts to explain a little nervously, trying to avoid Tina's gaze as he looked at the small picnic sitting on a checkered red picnic blanket he had laid out. "but it's the best I could do. I know how much you have loved this tree since we were little kids. And I've read enough astronomy books to know that the stars shine brightly more tonight than any other night. So, I just thought it was a good idea for a first date."_

" _Newt, it's perfect."_

" _No, it's not," Newt counters, his low self-esteem getting the better of him._

_Tina walks closer to Newt, her hands still entwined with his. She reaches him, her face only inches from his. She locks her eyes with his and says with all the conviction she had, "It's perfect."_

_She smiles at him and plants a kiss on his cheek. She then moves towards the picnic that Newt had set up for them, tugging on his arm so that he'd follow her. They sit beside each other comfortably as Tina starts to unpack the food that Newt had prepared. She smiled at herself when she simply finds a couple of sandwiches and pumpkin juice, for some reason the simplicity of it all making the date even more special than any another expensive date that Newt could have sprung on her._

_Tina holds out her hand and offers Newt one of the sandwiches that he had packed. He takes it willingly and munches on it silently, unable to think of anything he could say in that moment._

_Tina smiles as looks at him, his eyes staring off into the night sky, admiring each star that he sees. He didn't attempt to impress her by pointing out any of the constellations that they learned in astronomy class. Instead, he just sat there, looking at the stars and munching on his sandwich. It made Tina smile, knowing that the man she loved didn't do anything other than be himself to impress her._

_Tina leans back against the pillows that Newt had laid out against the bark of Tina's favorite tree, sitting as comfortably as she can as she took a bite out of her sandwich. She turns her gaze from Newt to the stars and stares in awe at how beautiful it looked tonight more than any other night. She didn't know if it was simply because the stars did shine brighter tonight of all nights or if because having Newt there with her to gaze at them made them all the more evident. All she knew that she could sit in this moment forever, happily beside the person that she loved._

" _You know all this sneaking around is pointless, Tina," Newt blurts out into the comfortable silence that they had formed. "my mother already knows, Queenie knows, Theseus knows."_

_He turns to look at Tina at the exact same moment she turned to look at him. He moves his body towards hers and places one of his hands on top of her own. "I don't see why we can't tell everybody else about us."_

" _I know, I just…" Tina starts, trying to put to words her reasons behind keeping their relationship a secret. "I'm just really enjoying this…us…right now. And I'm just scared that if we tell everyone else that they'll make a big deal out of it and we don't get to be_ us _anymore."_

" _I understand," Newt nods in agreement, knowing full well what Tina meant. They've been friends since they were kids and their families won't be able to resist from teasing them about it once they've learned about their relationship. "We'll tell them when you're ready."_

_Newt then takes Tina's hand in his own and brings it to his lips so that he could plant a kiss on her knuckles before he settles their linked arms back on the ground. He gives her one of his charming smiles before looking back at the stars._

_Tina squeezes Newt's hand in appreciation before she inches closer to him. She then wraps his arms around her without separating their intertwined hands. Newt was caught off guard but happily pulls Tina towards him as she snuggles against him._

" _You know, I'm actually surprised that Diana hasn't told my parent's yet," Tina says a few moments later._

" _I can tell that she wants to," Newt admits. "but she promised not to, and she always keeps her promises."_

_Tina nods and returns to settle against Newt. She was starting to get comfortable in his embrace again when he moved, unwrapping his arms from Tina and letting go of her hands. Tina feels sad by the sudden loss of Newt's touch and was about to look up at him to give him a puppy dog face, but he already had his hands out._

" _C'mon," Newt says, motioning her to stand. "I better get you home before anyone notices you're gone."_

_Tina chuckles, shakes her head at him and takes his hand. "Newt, thanks for tonight. It was lovely."_

" _Anything for you, my Tina," he smiles happily in reply before he inches closer to her, tucking his index finger under her chin before kissing her goodnight. That was the first time he ever called her his._

_Newt then takes one of Tina's hands in his as he started to lead her back towards the Goldstein Estate._

" _Actually, Newt," Tina starts to stay as she tugs on Newt's hand. "I think it's better if I go home on my own. Someone might catch you on your way back."_

_Newt chuckles and shakes his head at Tina. "Okay, you may be right."_

_He then pulls her in for another kiss, a passionate one this time. Their lips meet halfway, their lips crushed against each other, their bodies moving in unison. Tina pushes Newt away from her a mere seconds later, knowing that she won't be going home anytime soon if she doesn't stop it. Their eyes linger on each other for a second before Newt finally lets go of Tina and watches her as she jogs back to the Goldstein Estate._

_Tina couldn't keep the smile off her lips, her hands ghosting over them every time she remembered what it felt like when Newt's lips were on hers. She was thankful that it was dark because she knew that if it wasn't the blush on her face would be evident._

_She sneaks back up her bedroom window, a bedroom she shared with Queenie. She tiptoes back to her bed, trying not to wake her sister and throws the covers over her head once she settles in, ready to dream about kissing Newt for the rest of the night._

* * *

"Funny enough, that night was the night I decided I was ready to tell mama and daddy about Newt and me," Tina adds as she finishes telling Queenie the story that she removed from her sister's memory.

Tina walks away from Queenie towards the floor length mirror. Queenie follower her big sister and wraps her arms around her sister's waist while resting her chin on Tina's shoulders.

"And thank Merlin you did," Queenie says with a laugh. "I wasn't sure I would have been able to keep the secret from them any longer."

Tina laughs along with her sister, looking away from her reflection as a tear of joy escaped her eye.

"You look beautiful, Teenie," Queenie remarked a few minutes later.

Tina looked back up at the mirror, locking eyes with her sister. "Thanks, Queenie."

The sisters stay in their embrace in front of the mirror, happy to be in the presence of each other in that moment. They would have stayed in that position for longer, but another knock came, which broke the sisters from their private moment.

"I hate to break up this little moment," says the man peeking through the door. "but they're ready for you, Teen."

Tina smiled at the man by the door, the man she already considered her brother. She turns around to face her sister, who gives her a final kiss before grabbing her bouquet lying by the dresser. Queenie gives Theseus a light kiss on the cheek before she starts walking slowly down the staircase leading to the altar. Theseus moves past the door and takes Tina's left hand and loops it on his right.

"Are you ready for this?" he asks her, the question obviously rhetorical because he knew that his brother and Tina have been ready for this since they were teenagers.

"I think I am," Tina answers even though she knew that Theseus didn't really expect her to give him an answer. "I think I have been ready for this moment for a while now."

Tina smiles at her soon-to-be brother-in-law, who gives her a kiss on the cheek before leading her out the door and down the staircase. The pair of them descend the familiar staircase slowly, Tina's wedding dress making it a little difficult for her to walk faster than a step at a time.

These steps were the exact same ones she walked at her 17th birthday party. At that moment she was nervous of facing all the strangers at her party, she was nervous about dancing with 16 bachelors, her father, and Newt in front of all the most well-known witches and wizards in Britain. All the could think of 6 years ago was that if she tripped and fell or stepped on anyone's toes she would embarrass herself, her family and the Scamanders. But right now, all Tina could think of was the man waiting for her at the end of the altar.

When they reached the bottom of the spiral staircase, Tina was in awe. She had never seen the venue for her wedding before today. Her sister and soon-to-be mother-in-law had insisted that they handle all the wedding details, including the venue and the reception, and that all Tina had to do was rest and get ready for the special day. The ballroom had chairs that had intricate golden designs on them. The ceilings had beautiful ornaments of magical creatures floating back and forth in the clear blue sky that was enchanted similar to how the ceilings of Hogwarts were enchanted to look like the night sky. The path towards the alter was covered white rose petals scattered all over the thick red carpet beneath.. Tina looks even further to the end of the altar and finds him there smiling at her. She smiled back at him, forgetting about everything around her at the sight of his eyes and the love that radiated from the beautiful green orbs.

Theseus readjusted his grip on Tina, breaking her from her reverie and breaking her eye contact with Newt. She smiles at him before they start to walk down the aisle, towards the altar where Newt was waiting. Tina had gained her pacing almost immediately and started to look back up at the altar, searching for the eyes of the man she was going to marry. She found them almost immediately, her brown orbs locking with his greenones, the both of them getting lost in each other's gaze and seeing nobody else around them but each other. With every step she took, Tina realized that she was one step closer to forever with the love of her life. She looks into his eyes, her own a little beady with the tears that were starting to form in them as she reminisces about the day that led both her and Newt to where they were right now.

* * *

 

_It had been almost 6 months since Newt had returned from his travels to study magical creatures around the world and everything had went back to normal. He and Tina have grown stronger than ever since his return and the publishing of his book. For the first three months since his return he had to go on book tours to promote Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and even though Tina said she was okay with him being gone again even after he promised that he was back for good, she was a little sad that she only got Newt for a few weeks at a time._

_One Friday afternoon, Tina came home from a very tiring day at work and arrived at the Scamander Estate at 5 o'clock. Ever since their parents died, Tina and Queenie have been staying at the Scamander Estate more than they have at their own home. At times they would have sleepovers at their parent's old bedroom and reminisce about the wonderful times they had as a family. But most of the time the Goldstein sisters slept in the room that the Scamanders had for them in their own home. They've considered the Goldsteins as family at that point and insisted that the girls made Scamander Estate their permanent residence._

_Tina walks through the front door of the large Scamander home and starts to walk up the stairs to the bedroom she shared with Queenie. She usually went to the Hippogriff nests first to greet Diana and then to Percy's study but today was not one of those days. Tina felt tired and raw from all the work that she had today. All she wanted to do was get to her room and lie in her bed until she fell asleep._

_Tina reached the door to the room she shared with Queenie and pushed it open. She shrugged off her coat and left it laying on the floor before walking hastily to her bed, falling face first on top of it. In her haste to get to the bed, Tina didn't notice her younger sister Queenie by the vanity, adjusting her make up._

" _Well, hello sis," Queenie greeted merrily from where she was sitting as she added a little mascara to her eyelashes. "it's been a while since I've actually seen you in this room."_

" _What?" Tina asks, her head snapping up immediately. "What are you on about Queenie? This is our room remember? We've shared it for two years."_

" _Yes, I do know that, Teenie," Queenie replied, eyeing her sister through the mirror. "I just mean that you haven't slept in this room since Newt finally returned from traveling the world."_

_Tina turned bright red at her sister's insinuation, making Queenie smile mischievously at her sister through the mirror._

" _Oh, no need to be embarrassed, Teenie. I get it," Queenie continued teasing her big sister as she tucked away her lipstick into her purse. "you missed Newt. He missed you. It happens."_

_Tina groans at her sister and buries her head back onto the bed, not realizing that Queenie was getting up from where she was sitting and walking towards her._

" _You don't even sleep on this bed on days when he's gone," Queenie states innocently, crossing her arms at Tina, who looked up at her beautiful younger sister. "I would argue that this isn't even our room anymore. It's just_ my _room now."_

_Tina chooses to ignore Queenie and slumps back on the bed face first, knowing that the blonde was still standing right in front of her. She was in no mood to be teased after the tiring day she had._

" _I'm just saying," Queenie adds in softly as she strolls back to the vanity to give herself a final once-over before heading out on her date. "you won't be able to sleep well here. You're not used to it anymore."_

" _Fine," Tina grumbles as she stands up from her bed, grabs her coat and stalks off to the door. "I'll go sleep elsewhere."_

_Tina walks to the next door, the door that led to Newt's bedroom, where she had been sleeping since he came back. She yanks the door open and walks in grumpily before slumping onto the bed that she had grown familiar with. She adjusts herself angrily, removing her shoes before tucking herself in._

_She was really on edge and she knew why. It wasn't just because of the day she had, but because she received a letter from Newt that told her that he wasn't coming home until next week. He had promised he'd be home for a week before he had to go off to another book tour. But he has broken his promise. Again._

_With all the anger Tina had, she didn't even realize she was hungry. She fell into a long, dreamless sleep to be woken up the next morning wrapped in the arms the one person she needed to make everything better._

" _You were mumbling in your sleep," Newt comments sadly, his chin rested on one of her arms and his arms wrapped around her waist. "mostly cursing me."_

" _Newt, what," Tina yawns before she turns to face him. "what are you doing here? I thought you couldn't come home until next week?"_

" _I thought I couldn't," Newt begins to explain, shifting on the bed, propping his right arm to support his head as he looked at the beautiful woman beside him. "but apparently there was a mix up with scheduling, so Mr. Worme told me to come home while they fix it."_

" _Well, I'm glad you're back," Tina replies, throwing arms around Newt._

" _Are you really?" Newt asked sadly, remembering all the words Tina had been muttering in her sleep._

_Tina sits up, a little hurt that Newt would even think that she didn't want him there. "Of course, I am Newt. I miss you."_

" _Didn't sound like it in your dream," Newt pouts endearingly._

" _That doesn't mean anything," Tina explains, lacing her fingers with Newt's to reassure him. "I just had a bad day at work yesterday and then I got your letter about not being able to come home and I got mad at you. After all, you said you were finally home, finally done with all the traveling and research, but I barely get to see you after you came home."_

_She looks at Newt with sad eyes, his own laced with guilt._

" _I just thought that it would be easier for us to be us again after you came back," Tina continues her rant, finally letting herself say the things she had always wanted to say in the years where Newt was traveling. "but it only became harder. I think it was easier not seeing you for years and you coming home for a long vacation before leaving again than it is right now with the situation book tour. I barely even get to spend time with you anymore."_

_Newt moves to comfort Tina, pulling her into an embrace, but before he could hold her firmly and apologize to her, she moves away from him and stands to face him, her arms crossed against her chest._

" _I thought it would be different this time, Newt," Tina says sadly from where she was standing, scared of where her thoughts were bringing the conversation. "I thought we could move past the distance and the separation, but I don't think I can anymore."_

_Tina looks up to meet Newt's eyes, seeing so much pain in his beautiful green eyes. Her heart was breaking too, when she realized was she was about to do and what her words meant._

" _Tina, please don't do this," Newt pleads as he stood from the bed and walked over to her. He reaches her and holds her by the arms, trying to get her to look at him, to listen to him._

" _Why not, Newt?" she asks as she looks up at him. "We've been apart from each other for most of our relationship. I know in my heart it made us stronger, but I just can't do that anymore, Newt."_

_Newt opens his mouth and tries to say something, but Tina didn't allow him to, she continued on with her monologue, never taking her eyes off Newt's, hoping that she could make him understand what she wanted and why she thought this was the right thing to do._

" _I want you here with me. And I know that's too much to ask of you especially when it gets in the way of you achieving your dream, but I am asking," Tina rambles on until she could barely breath. "I want you to prioritize me for a change."_

_There it was. Finally, she was able to ask for the things she had wanted to ask Newt ever since he had returned to her. She knew it was selfish, but she knew it was necessary. She started to move, deciding to walk away and leave Newt to think about what she just asked him. A lot of doubt started to build up inside her, doubt that Newt would pick her over his precious book. But she asked for it, and whatever answer Newt will give she would have to accept it._

_She turned and started to walk when Newt grabs her hand, almost missing it narrowly. "Come with me."_

_Tina was taken aback by Newt's reaction. He didn't even look like he was thinking about it. Nevertheless, she followed his lead as he led her out the veranda where they usually greeted the sun together on the days that he was actually home. The memory of those mornings brings back a pain to Tina's heart. She was going to lose that if Newt decides that his book was more important than her._

_Newt looks at Tina tentatively, holding a hand out to her, gesturing at her to head out before him. She walks past Newt and into the veranda and was thoroughly shocked by the sight that met her. The veranda was adorned with what felt like a hundred bouquets of blowers encircling a table at the center of it. On top of the table were a variety of treats and breakfast foods that Tina liked as well as her favorite cup of coffee._

_Newt takes Tina by the hand and leads her towards the table, with her following him gobsmacked. He offered her a chair and she sat down with his help. He then walked to the opposite side of the table and sat opposite her._

" _I really intended for things to change, Tina," he begins explaining himself. "I came home today to surprise you with the news that the next destination of my book tour will be my last."_

_This revelation caught Tina by shock. She was about to argue and ask questions, but Newt didn't let her. It was his turn to talk._

" _The truth is, the scheduling of my next tour wasn't messed up," Newt says as he looks at Tina, pleads at her with his eyes to hear him out. "it was already set. But I walked up to Mr. Worme and told him that I decided to make the next destination my last one and we argued. It wasn't pretty, you know how he is. But in the end, he agreed, said that the sales of my book are actually good and that we just need to make one more strategic reading in the right place to boost the sales up even more."_

" _What are you saying?" Tina asks, trying to make herself stop hoping that this was Newt telling her that he chose her._

" _I'm saying that the traveling is coming to an end," Newt replies with a hopeful smile. "unless it involves you coming along with me."_

" _But…"_

" _Tina, I know it hasn't been easy on you," Newt continues, reaching out to hold Tina's hand and make her feel that he understood why she said the things she said. "it hasn't been easy on me either. But after returning from my travels and actually getting to_ _ **be**_ _with you, I realized how much I've missed by going on that venture in the first place."_

_Tina smiles, happiness starting to flood her at the realization that the man she loved understood her even in a moment of selfishness._

" _And I just cannot miss any more moments like that with you anymore," Newt says with conviction. "I won't. I love you too much to let distance take you away from me."_

_Newt brings the hand that was holding Tina's towards his lips and kisses her knuckles._

" _I love you, too," Tina echoed in reply as a tear escaped her eye._

_The two lovers forgot about the food in front of them and instead just stood from where they were sitting to share a kiss._

_Newt held Tina close against him, not wanting to ever let her go again. Tina wrapped her arms around Newt's neck, not wanting any distance to ever keep them apart anymore._

_"So, you're staying for good this time?" Tina asks again, wanting to make sure that she heard him right._

_"I am," Newt confirms with a nod and a smile. "I promised you once that I'm never leaving you again but I seemed to have broken that promise a million times over._

_Tina laughs at the man she loves, nodding in agreement at the words he just said. Newt laughs along with her and kisses her once again. They pepper each other with kisses, until finally Newt stops it. Still holding her close with one hand, Newt tucks his fingers into one of his pockets and pulls something out._

" _There's also this," Newt says confidently, bringing the engagement ring that he had bought Tina when he returned from his travels._

" _Oh my god, Newt," Tina exclaims, her hands immediately flying to her mouth in surprise._

_Newt pulls away from Tina and starts to lower himself down on one knee. "Miss Tina Goldstein, will you do me the honor of being my wife?"_

_"Are you crazy?!" she exclaims in reply, not entirely sure how an almost break up led to a proposal._

_"Yes, I am," Newt replies with so much conviction Tina actually believed that he was in that moment. "I am crazy about you."_

_"Newt, c'mon be serious!"_

_"I am serious, Tina," Newt countered softly, so much sureness etched in his eyes as he took one of Tina's hands into his own free hand. "it's you. It has always been you."_

_"We're too young to know that, Newt," she says, trying to sway him from his decision. "we don't know what the future has in store for us. We still have a lot ahead of us,"_

_"It doesn't matter when or how old we are. I love you and that's the only thing I have ever been sure of in my entire life. I love you, I've always loved you and I will always love you. I will always be here, for as long as you'll have me."_

_Tina looks at Newt with so much love in her eyes, appreciation and love for the man in front of her growing with every minute. She moves to give him a long searing kiss._

" _So, will you?" Newt inquires again, his heart racing as he waited for the woman he loved with his entire being to answer the question he had been so afraid to ask since he returned a few months ago. "Will you have me?"_

_"Yes," Tina replies softly with so much certainty. "Yes, I will have you Newt Scamander. From now until the end of time itself."_

_Newt thought that he had died and gone to heaven when he heard her say yes. He grabbed her by the waist and crushed his lips onto hers, happiness dictating every kiss, every touch, every caress that he was giving her. They break apart and Newt places the ring on Tina's finger before kissing the diamond ring that signified the beginning of another chapter of their lives together._

_"Here's to forever, Porpentina Esther Goldstein."_

_Tina smiles at Newt saying her full name. She inches her head closer to him, their noses brushing against each other's and whispers in reply, "Here's to forever, Newt Artemis Fido Scamander."_

* * *

 

Tina reaches the altar with Theseus steadying her again. He gives her away to Newt, smiling first at him before giving Tina a kiss and then finally taking his place at his brother's side as his best man.

Newt takes Tina's hand from Theseus, holding onto it firmly, ready to never let it go. The two of them walk a little closer towards the altar to face the minister presiding over their wedding. The minister was an old friend of Newt's parents, Timothy Miller. He looked at the young couple and smiled brightly at them with pride.

Newt holds onto Tina's hand, tugging her towards him so that she would face him. Tina turned to look at the man she was about to marry, waiting for him to say what she knew he was about to say.

"Are you ready for forever, Porpentina Goldstein?"

"I am, because it is with you Newt Scamander."


End file.
